


The Heir of Black

by flowergirlbarnes



Series: The Heirs of Black [1]
Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Battle of Hogwarts, Deathly Hallows, F/M, Hogwarts, Order of the Pheonix, Prisoner of Azkaban, The Noble and Most Ancient House of Black, goblet of fire - Freeform, half blood prince
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-11-18
Updated: 2021-03-01
Packaged: 2021-03-09 22:33:28
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 12
Words: 73,358
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27613516
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/flowergirlbarnes/pseuds/flowergirlbarnes
Summary: Cecilia Black, daughter of Sirius Black, was left behind at a young age when her father was thrown into Azkaban. Forced to live with her aunt and uncle, Cecilia learned the ways of a proper pure-blood, even if that meant becoming someone she didn't like. When Sirius Black escaped jail, Cecilia felt herself questioning everything she ever knew about her parents, her past and even herself.
Relationships: Fred Weasley/Original Female Character(s), Sirius Black/Original Female Character(s)
Series: The Heirs of Black [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2019290
Comments: 12
Kudos: 65
Collections: Harry Potter Fic





	1. The Escape

The plan to fly under the radar had been completely ruined her fourth year at Hogwarts. It was only a month before students were expected to board the train when the news got out.

Cecilia was sitting quietly pushing the eggs around her plate eyeing everyone at the table quietly. She did this every morning trying to get a proper feel at how the day was going to go. It was usually her uncle's mood she had to watch out for. Today, however, he wore an expression she couldn't quite place. His skin was slightly paler than usual, and his eyes darted back and forth eating up whatever front-page story the Daily Prophet had to offer. When he was done, he tilted the front page slightly towards her aunt who took only one glance before getting up from her chair and ushering her husband away.

When they had completely left the room, Cecilia's cousin picked up the paper to see for himself what had caused his parents to act as such. He read it for a few seconds before his eyes grew wide and he plopped the newspaper in the space that was left between their plates, the title facing Cecilia's direction. The bold headline read 'ESCAPE AT AZKABAN' and the picture moving just underneath was of a man with chin length hair and a scruffy looking face. He was yelling and resisting the Azkaban guards in the picture. His whole demeanor made him look crazy.

'Father,' she thought to herself feeling suddenly too nauseous to finish breakfast.

"Think he'd come for you Cece?" Draco asked, a hint of worry in his voice.

Cecilia couldn't look up and face his concerned look so instead she kept her gaze on Sirius Black's thrashing picture. "I don't know," she whispered just loud enough for Draco to hear. Her chair was pushed back, and she excused herself from the half empty table. Trying to keep her movements steady. Cecilia had just turned out of Draco's sight before her entire body started to shake. She barely made it to her room deep in the mansion before collapsing to the ground in a small ball.

Cecilia had never met her father; she had only heard the stories. Betrayal of the best friends, twelve muggles dead, another best friend murdered in an explosion and it was all his fault. It was hard enough growing up with her father in Azkaban and was even worse that everyone seemed to know every detail of the tragic story.

She always wondered why she didn't grow up as a Malfoy instead, no one would have ever known. It would've spared her, even if only a bit. Being a Malfoy had its own challenges, she witnessed that with Draco. Even though they both carried the weight of being both a Black and a Malfoy, the odds were tilted slightly in his favor with this one. Unfortunately, her Aunt Narcissa insisted that she carry the Black name instead.

Cecilia Black, basically an orphan adopted by her mother's family.

She used to laugh about how she sounded a lot like Harry Potter, but it wasn't the same and she knew it. As much as it sucks having one parent dead and the other in Azkaban, at least the one in Azkaban was still alive.

Growing up with the Malfoys was a struggle in many ways. When Cecilia was younger, she knew her Uncle Lucius didn't like the reminder of his dead sister staring him in the face every time he looked at her, but she couldn't help it, Cecilia had gotten the majority of her looks from her mother. Her long blonde/silver hair, her high cheekbones, her silver eyes and pale complexion all came from her mother. The only remarkable thing she got from her father were the curls in her hair. All the portraits of Stella Malfoy around Malfoy Manor showed her mother's hair slick and straight, so Cecilia's wild curls must've come from him.

It also didn't help that the Malfoys were not afraid of the spotlight. Cecilia, who was often shamed for who her father was, wanted nothing more than to tuck herself away and just survive. Lucius wasn't like that, he was disgustingly proud and never backed away from a situation that would make him known.

When it came to Lucius, as she grew older, Cecilia noticed that he softened up when it came to her. Unfortunately, it was around the time he started getting stricter and harsher with Draco. She tried to stick up for Draco when they were younger when she noticed that Lucius treated her differently. Anytime he started to mistreat her or treat her the way he did Draco, Narcissa was there to stop him. The one-time Cecilia asked her why she did it, Narcissa got a sad look in her eyes and answered softly, "your mother wouldn't have wanted you brought up like that." Cecilia almost asked more but then stopped herself noticing how sad her aunt got talking about her mother.

Standing up for Draco became second nature to Cecilia until one day he asked her to stop. She knew he hated when she fought his battles from him, she didn't care. Any chance to push back against her uncle, she took without hesitation. She felt slightly invincible when it came to him because of her unspoken protection from her aunt. She tried to extend it to Draco, but he ended up refusing.

It was harder to stop then Cecilia thought and every time she was about to step in, Draco gave her a look that told her not to. It was like he knew what she was going to do before she even did it. They grew up so close it made sense he'd know her like the back of his hand. Another reason she was always sticking up for him, she couldn't bear watching her cousin, her brother, always getting the short end of the stick.

When he first started at Hogwarts, Cecilia was already in her second year. He quickly became disliked by the majority of the school and she couldn't blame them. The way Draco treated people at school was the way his father treated people, like they were all below them. It didn't sit right with Cecilia, but he was starting to gain a confidence she had never seen in him before. She had hoped that he would use his newfound confidence from school and use it on his father, but he never did. He only used it as a weapon against others.

It only took a year for Cecilia to finally stop him instead of watching grow up to turn into his father. She knew he hated when she did it, but she didn't care. He was her brother and Cecilia couldn't have an insufferable git walking around as her brother. As much as she thought she was doing it for him, she was doing it for her too. Draco attracted attention, the same his father sought out, the same Cecilia had been trying to hide from her whole life.

In the end, the situation only got worse and progressed into Draco and Cecilia being constantly at odds during the school year. Once they left Hogwarts though, everything went back to how it had always been, and they were close again. Eventually they ultimately decided to keep to themselves at school hoping to protect their relationship out of it. When that started to work, Draco got slightly less mean and Cecilia would hang around him and his friends for small, bearable periods of time.

Cecilia hadn't made many friends herself, so it was nice to have people around every once in a while. Before Draco was there to advocate for her, she often was left alone, which was a relief until she realized why. They were afraid of her; thought she was dangerous like her father. It didn't help she was also a Slytherin, the house had a pre-existing prejudice against it.

The truth was Cecilia was far from dangerous. She understood why she came across as it, quiet, always in the shadows, content to just sit back and observe. She painted herself as mysterious by accident and not many people ended up approaching her. It ended up working out well for her, she was finally out of the spotlight and flying under the radar.

It worked well for her first year, then Draco came to Hogwarts and started stirring stuff up. After parting ways with him though, she could finally go back to her solitude ways. Unfortunately, in her third year, there was a slight hiccup when people were afraid of the Heir of Slytherin. She even heard a rumour it was her which made her laugh. She was sure her father wasn't even a Slytherin, so the theory really didn't add up.

Once that fear passed, she hoped her fourth year was going to be fine, normal even. The news of her father escaping wizard prison was going to change everything though. There was no doubt that the attention would be on her this year and she was not looking forward to it at all.

"Cecilia?" a voice called from the other side of the door followed by a knock. Narcissa was the only person in the family that knocked, and Cecilia knew immediately it was her. Normally Draco would just barge into her room without knocking and Lucius wouldn't even bother paying her a visit.

She picked herself off the floor and opened the door letting her aunt step into her room. Narcissa shut the door tightly behind her and crossed the room to sit on the bed. Cecilia followed her aunt's actions sitting right beside her not looking once in her direction. She knew which face she was wearing; it was one of pity with a slight touch of worry.

"I assume you saw the paper this morning," Narcissa said after a couple seconds breaking the silence. Cecilia gave her head a small nod giving all her attention to the neat pile of schoolbooks on the ground beside her desk and none to her aunt sitting right beside her. "Lucius and I spoke about it and we both think you'll be safe at Hogwarts. Draco will also be there for you too."

Cecilia looked up when she said this and answered back quickly, "I don't need a thirteen-year-old's protection."

Narcissa smiled with a hint of a smirk playing on her face. "I know you don't, I meant more for moral support." Cecilia scoffed at the idea of Draco actually showing some moral support at Hogwarts. As if Narcissa could read her thoughts she added, "I'll talk to him."

Her aunt stood up from the bed and eyed her school stuff neatly tucked away. "We're going to Diagon Alley the week before you start school, make sure you have a list of everything you need for next year." Narcissa looked back once more, flashing her face of pity before exiting the room leaving Cecilia feeling more alone than ever.

She plopped back on her bed staring at the ceiling that was painted with constellations reflecting the night Cecilia was born. Narcissa had it painted after her first year when she told her aunt that Astronomy was her favourite class and that stars interested her. It was a welcome home gift at the end of second term when she came home for the summer. Cecilia sighed thinking about what a simpler time that summer was, no criminal fathers running around loose.

.....

The rest of August passed by too quickly for Cecilia's liking. She spent most of it preparing for her school year and practicing Quidditch with Draco. It wasn't ideal that Lucius had to buy their spots on the team but at least she had the skill to back it up. She knew that if she was allowed to try out, she would've made the team. According to Marcus Flint though, she was just a weak little girl.

It was Draco in the end who told his father what had happened. Lucius, who taught them both how to fly and the principles of Quidditch wasn't pleased that it might've been a waste of time. He then did the only logical thing he could think of, and bribed the school to put Cecilia AND Draco on the team. It wasn't that Draco was bad, it's just he needed work.

She offered to train him last year, but he was too embarrassed at the time to accept her offer. This summer, now that they were alone and not surrounded by his ridiculous pack, it was a different story. It helped pass the time but now she realized how it was making time speed up and not slow down like she wanted it too. She never thought she'd think it, but Cecilia would much rather stay at Malfoy Manor than board the Hogwarts Express and face the stares she'll be receiving from her fellow classmates.

Nothing had progressed with Sirius Black in the last three weeks. He was still on the loose and no one has found any trace of him anywhere. She was sure that Lucius and Narcissa knew more about what was going on, but they were keeping it from her. She knew they thought it was for her own protection; she'd feel more protected if they did tell her.

Nevertheless, the three weeks did come and go and now it was the night before their trip to Diagon Alley and Cecilia couldn't sleep a wink. She was afraid that if she did, she'd dream of all the looks she was expecting to receive tomorrow. People knew who she was thanks to the articles she had to read time over time while people made sense as to where Sirius Black might end up.

'Malfoy Manor is the place to watch,' one article said. 'There resides Black's own blood. His fourteen-year-old daughter Cecilia Black, niece of Lucius Malfoy. If anyone were to guess who he'd look for first, their first guess would be her. Watch out Cecilia.'

Her uncle fumed the entire next morning and then left to make a formal complaint at the Ministry. She remembers the look of pity etched on her aunt's face; the same one she wore the day the newspapers first announced the escape. She hated it then and she hated it even more now.

She climbed out of her soft bed and made her way to the window. Staring up at the sky, she tried to do a bit of stargazing in the hopes it would calm her unsettling thoughts and let her sleep. Cecilia stared at the sky for a couple minutes before feeling a weird sensation course through her body. It felt as if someone outside her window was watching her carefully.

She tilted her head down to ground and tried inspecting the landscape that surrounded the manor. It seemed empty but the feeling didn't go away. Scanning the ground another time, her eyes landed on a pair of eyes glowing ever so slightly. An animal, almost like a dog, was staring up at her window. She pressed her face closer against the window and saw a black dog standing in the middle of the yard. 'Why would a dog be staring up at me?' she thought.

Cecilia kept her eyes focused on the dog for a few more seconds before finally shaking her head. 'He wasn't looking at me,' she concluded. 'Probably at a light on in the house or even at the moon.' Settling back into bed, Cecilia closed her eyes letting sleep finally take her and she dreamt of the glowing eyes she had just seen.

.....

Diagon Alley was packed with Hogwarts's students picking up their supplies for the start of school. One week until Cecilia had to board the train, one week till she had to face everyone. The news of Sirius Black was on the tip of everyone's tongue and wizards were giving her funny looks. Almost as if her presence in Diagon Alley was putting them all in danger.

When this happened, she tried cowering behind Draco who was walking directly behind his parents with his head held high. She didn't know if he knew she was using him as defense but if he did, he didn't say anything and just stood taller, giving her more of a frame to hide behind.

Cecilia followed the Malfoys into each store, picking up things she and Draco needed for the school year. By the time it was all done, Draco was complaining about how hungry he was. Narcissa suggested a quick bite at the Leaky Cauldron while they were there. Cecilia just knew there was going to be people they knew so she tried to protest.

"Can't you just eat when we get home?" she whined hoping Lucius would take her side on this one. Draco shot her a strange look and Cecilia tried sending him back a pleading one, but he had already turned his back on her and was following his mother towards the Leaky Cauldron.

"A quick bite can't hurt Cecilia," Lucius said sternly shutting down any option of getting out of this one. She followed behind the group; head hung low hoping no one would notice her. She knew it was an impossible task because even in the dark pub, her silver hair stood out. Sitting there were a group she easily recognized as the Weasleys.

Lucius scoffed at their presence but quickly ignored the large family moving to the other side of the pub. Cecilia pushed Draco along hoping he wouldn't start anything today and bring any more attention to their group. He must've gotten the hidden message in her actions because he quickly walked past the group and sat down at the table with his father. Before Cecilia could sit down, Lucius shoved some coins into her hand. "Go order us four Butterbeers at the bar."

She started to say no but the annoyance on Lucius' face from the presence of the Weasleys warned her not to go against him. She tucked her head down trying to avoid the looks of the Weasley family as she passed by, but their table immediately went quiet as she walked past and was replaced by hushed whispers seemingly about her.

Cecilia ordered the drinks hoping to get out of there quickly before a body leaned on the bar right beside her. 'Great,' she thought. She turned her head slightly grabbing a glimpse of who it was. She should have known before she even turned her head who it was. There was only one Weasley who dared to interacted with her. She knew that he was the most reckless Weasley too.

Fred Weasley. Fred was a tall, Gryffindor boy who was extremely popular and equally as annoying in her opinion. His twin brother George, who sometimes would give her funny looks, never really approached her never mind spoke to her. His brother was different.

Cecilia wasn't approached by many and even if she was, they weren't as bold as Fred. He was especially bold when he spoke his first words to her. It was last year right around the time the rumours that she was the heir of Slytherin started circling that he stopped her mid track on the way to her common room. "Heard you were the snake tamer Black," he spoke with a daring voice, almost challenging her. "If you were going to pick your next target, I'd go for your cousin, do us all a favor."

Her vision clouded with red when he said it. Would've slapped him if she had the guts but instead, she pushed past him and tried to calm her breathing. From that day on, everything Fred Weasley did bothered her, and he did a lot.

Fred was always in the spotlight with his twin, though Cecilia noticed that George usually followed Fred's bold lead and was more level-headed. She could usually tell who was who based on that. Who was being more tame and rational and who was being obnoxious and reckless. You could say this meant she preferred George, but the real truth was she disliked them both.

Now, more than ever, did Cecilia just want to disappear. She knew whatever came out of Fred's mouth was going to put her in a worse mood than she was already in. She tried focusing in the bar top waiting for the slow bartender to make her drinks and escape before Fred opened his big mouth.

"Dear ol' daddy is out and on the loose. Have you seen him yet?" Cecilia felt her cheeks get hot with embarrassment at the mention of her father. She ignored Fred's statement and his strong gaze that hadn't moved from her face. He leaned in closer so she could almost feel his breath on her cheeks and added, "c'mon Black, spill the details. Think he'll pay us a visit at Hogwarts this year?"

Cecilia clenched her fist on the counter and from the corner of her eye, she caught Fred smirking. He was trying to get a reaction out of her, she knew it. Fred saw her as a challenge, and she wasn't going to give him the satisfaction of solving it.

She turned her head to face him taking in his triumphant look. "It's really none of your business Weasley," she said in the nastiest tone she could muster up. Finally, the server placed four big glasses in front of Cecilia and she grabbed them while turning to walk away. When she reached the table that Malfoys were sitting at, Cecilia carefully put down the drinks and slinked as far down in her chair as she could.

Shortly after the Weasleys filed out and she could drink her butterbeer in peace. Fred's taunting voice floated around in her head reminding her exactly what she was getting herself into next week. He's the only one who dared to say it, but everyone was thinking it.

If Sirius Black was really after her, she was putting everyone at Hogwarts lives at stake. As if she had enough to worry about, now she had to worry about the attention and the risk she brought the Hogwarts in the new school year.


	2. The Start of a New Year

September first was usually one of Cecilia's favorite days of the year. This year however, on the morning of, she stayed in bed as long as possible until Draco barged in her room to grab her already packed trunk and hiss at her to get out of bed immediately.

"You'll be fine Cece. If anyone says anything, they'll have my father to deal with." Cecilia groaned at this statement. Draco's famous 'my father will hear about this' line was her least favourite thing to hear. The thought of it being used for her own sake was worse than any humiliation she was sure to expect this year.

Finally, when she realized she didn't want to risk Lucius being the next person to barge into her room, she rolled out of bed and tidied herself up. 'Tidy yourself up Cecilia,' Lucius' voice loomed in her head. 'You're a Malfoy for goodness sake.' Yeah, and a Black unfortunately. It took her all of ten minutes before she exited her room and made her way to the front foyer.

'Hogwarts is safe,' Cecilia tried convincing herself every step she made. 'That's why we had a giant killer snake looming the halls last year.' The darkness often seeped into whatever thought she was having. And to be fair, that part of her had a point.

When her family came into view, she noticed the tension in the room. Narcissa kept glancing at her with concern while Lucius looked rather annoyed it was her they were waiting on. In those moments, she pitied Draco for having such an awful man as a father. Narcissa on the other hand, while she wasn't perfect, loved him very much. Loved them both even, the only love she'd ever felt as a child. If she didn't have Draco, she swore she would've gone insane.

Draco's voice broke her out of her thought, "Let's go I have things to do." Cecilia rolled her eyes. Hogwarts Draco was in full swing and they hadn't even boarded the train.

Their journey to King's Cross station was short giving Cecilia even less time to prepare herself. Even so, nothing could've prepared her for the stares. The hundreds of stares that followed her every move. Again, like Diagon Alley, the Malfoys led the way through the crowd ignoring the potent glances and Cecilia trailed behind trying to hide behind Draco's broad shoulders. When they got to the platform, Draco hugged his mother briefly then parted to find his friends leaving Cecilia with Lucius and Narcissa.

Lucius spoke first, "Hogwarts will be guarded Cecilia. You'll be fine." For the first time ever, Lucius tried to give her some comfort. All she did was nod back letting him know, she understood.

Narcissa pulled her into a hug next. "Draco's there if you need him." Cecilia, still at a loss for words, nodded again. When she pulled away, Narcissa mustered up a smile trying to ease the anxious girl. With a final weak smile, she pulled away from her family and boarded the train.

Finding a compartment to sit in was always a struggle when you didn't have any friends. Sitting with Draco was never Cecilia's favorite but this year she almost sat with him just for the feeling of comfort. As she walked through the train hallway trying to find an empty compartment, her eyes landed on a compartment with a man in it. It was weird because only the students ever rode the train to Hogwarts.

She didn't think much of it as she moved on to find Blaise sitting alone in a compartment. She opened it slowly and smiled at the boy, "can I sit here?" she asked quietly. Blaise nodded and Cecilia made her way to sit opposite to him. Blaise Zabini was one of her housemates she actually tolerated. He often kept to himself like she did and sometimes they would even keep to themselves, together.

The train ride to Hogwarts was quiet and long as it normally was. Cecilia was trying to read one of her new textbooks while Blaise did the same across from her. The night was nearing, and the sky grew more indigo with every passing minute. Surprisingly, the temperature was dropping rapidly as well, something that had never happened before.

Suddenly, the train halted to a stop and the temperature was so low, Cecilia could see her breath in front of her. She looked up at Blaise who matched her quizzical look. This was weird, this had never happened before. She shut her book and stood up opening the door gently hoping to figure out what was going on.

Outside the compartment, other students had also poked their heads out trying to see what was going on. "See anything?" Blaise asked from behind her also closing his book and standing up.

"No, just a bunch of confused students." Cecilia closed the door and sat back down. "Mechanical error?" she suggested.

Blaise scoffed, "The Hogwarts Express having a mechanical error?" He was right, a magical train didn't have mechanical errors.

A few minutes passed before there was sound of movement outside the door. "What do you think it is?" she asked quietly as a dark cloaked figure appeared.

Blaise looked at her with a look of worry in his eyes. "I don't know," he whispered back.

Without any warning, the door opened revealing a dark figure with no face. Cecilia let out a loud gasp as the cloaked creature moved closer. An overwhelming chill coursed through her body leaving her feeling cold and sad. It was as if she had never felt happiness before in her entire life. It only lasted a minute, but she swore the feeling went on forever.

The cloaked figure lingered for a moment focusing on Cecilia then it left leaving the two students feeling numb. "What the bloody hell was that?" she choked out after a few seconds of recovery.

Blaise looked just as shaken as she did and all he could do was shake his head slowly back and forth. She made a move to get up but her knees buckled. She fell to the ground with a loud thud. "Cecilia!" Blaise called out, kneeling so he was beside her. As Blaise was trying to help Cecilia up, the door opened once more and the man who was in the other compartment rushed in to help.

"Are you okay Miss, Miss-"

"Black," Blaise finished for him. Cecilia's head was throbbing and her vision was blurry, but she could've swore she saw a flash of surprise and shock flash through his eyes.

After a couple seconds of silence, the man continued. "Miss Black are you alright?" she only nodded slowly though she wasn't really alright. He handed her something. "Eat, it'll help." Cecilia brought the food up to her mouth and tasted chocolate. She ate it slowly while Blaise helped her back up into a sitting position. "Better?" the man asked.

"Yes, thank you, um-"

"Professor Lupin," he finished for her. Cecilia weakly smiled up and thanked him again.

Blaise sat beside her and looked up at the professor, "what were those things? Why did she react like that?"

Professor Lupin eyed the girl carefully before cautiously saying, "Those were Dementors, they're looking for Sirius Black and I assume Miss Black was affected because of her relation to Mr. Black."

Cecilia scoffed and Blaise spoke up again, "I guess they sensed she was his daughter."

She watched the professor again and his eyes flashed with the same surprise and shock she saw from before. "Yes, I believe they did." Cecilia could feel the professors gaze on her for a few more silent seconds before he finally stood up. "I should go check on the other students." He left quickly without another word.

Blaise sat beside Cecilia the rest of the way watching her carefully. "I'm fine Blaise," she said for the third time with a weak smile. The train started again after a few minutes and they continued their journey to Hogwarts.

When they were only minutes out from the castle, Draco barged into the compartment. "Heard a rumor Potter fainted from those Dementors, pathetic right?" He plopped down opposite of Blaise and Cecilia smiling smugly. "Barely felt a thing when they appeared, guess some people are weaker than the others."

"Draco-" Blaise started but was only cut off by Draco cheerful ranting.

"Crabbe and Golye said they didn't feel it either, but I saw their faces, they looked like scared babies." Draco followed up with a small laugh then finally acknowledged the two in front of him. "What about you two? Feel anything?"

Blaise side eyed Cecilia and said, "yeah I felt something but Cece-"

"Fine, didn't feel anything," she cut him off. Blaise looked at her wide eyed but didn't say anything. She didn't need Draco knowing she was weak, he wouldn't say anything, but he would judge her regardless.

Draco and Blaise held small conversation letting Cecilia recover. When they finally arrived, she wasn't even hungry for the feast, so she pushed around the food on her plate ignoring Draco's loud voice. He was extra happy because of what the Dementors did to Potter. Every once in a while, when Draco brought it up, Blaise would shoot Cecilia a look knowing exactly what happened to her. He never said anything though, she really appreciated that, but the look told her that he was still slightly worried.

That night when all the students tucked themselves in their beds for the first sleep of the school year, she barely slept. She tossed and turned feeling cold and empty, the same feeling she got from the Dementors earlier that night. She wondered if it was because there were Dementors lurking around the boarders of Hogwarts. Dumbledore assured them they would be in no harm because of them but Cecilia still felt their effects. This year was already off to a bad start and she assumed it would only get worse.

.....

The first few days of classes went by without Cecilia being fully conscious of what was going on. She felt as if she was sleep walking through each day and getting no sleep at night. She knew she should feel safe at Hogwarts like her uncle explained but the thought that the only thing keeping Sirius Black out had attacked her was not comforting at all.

The thought of telling Lucius what happened crossed her mind twice, but she knew whatever he did, if he did anything, would only bring more attention and harm her way. She stayed quiet with the odd glance from Blaise every now and again. Other than that, she forced her way through each day.

On the third day of class, Cecilia was sitting in the Slytherin common room reading her Defence Against the Dark Arts book when Blaise walked in rolling his eyes. "Cecilia your cousin's an idiot," was all he said as he plopped down beside her.

She barely looked up while asking, "what'd he do now?"

Blaise rolled his eyes once more before answering, "he challenged a Hippogriff and got scratched pretty badly."

Cecilia furrowed her eyebrows and looked up, "he what?"

"He's up in the hospital wing, ask him yourself." She started packing up her books before standing up and swaying slightly. Her head was pounding, and she still didn't feel right from the day on the train. "Cecilia are you still not alright?"

"I'm fine Blaise, just tired."

He narrowed his eyes as she slung her bag over her shoulder. Blaise stood up with her, "c'mon I'll take you to the hospital wing."

"I said I'm fine Blaise," she hissed a little too harshly.

Blaise rolled his eyes, "to Draco, calm down Black."

She started for the hospital wing slowly and she felt Blaise follow her out the door. He walked quietly behind her the entire way across the castle and then followed her into the hospital wing. She could hear him before she even saw him. Draco was whining to anyone who could hear about his arm. Cecilia made her way across to the bed clearing a path to his bed side and situating herself in between Pansy and Goyle who looked worried.

"What happened Malfoy?" She asked looking down at him suspiciously. He didn't look that hurt in her opinion.

Draco sighed dramatically and plunged into his story. "Bloody Potter happened. That stupid giant oaf was teaching that stupid course and brought that deadly bloody chicken. Sure, Potter was able to trick the stupid bird into liking him but when I did it, I almost died! I ALMOST DIED CECE!"

Cecilia looked beside her at Pansy who looked like she was going to burst into tears any second now. She looked at Blaise behind her and he shook his head slowly. Dramatic Draco, putting on a show as always. She wasn't in the mood to play along, "c'mon Draco, it doesn't look that bad."

Draco's eyes almost shot out of his head. "NOT THAT BAD! When my father hears about this, the giant oaf will be sacked, and that stupid bird will be executed!" Pansy was still agreeing with everything he said and dumb and dumber were snickering in victory. Typical of the three of them, they worshiped Draco. Blaise looked annoyed with Draco and Cecilia trusted his reaction to the situation the most.

"You'll be fine Draco okay? Just calm down."

She felt Pansy's death stare into the side of her head. Draco looked mad and he muttered, "Merlin Cecilia, stop being such a git and get out of my face."

Cecilia rolled her eyes and backed away from her cousin. He was very clearly overreacting about nothing but let him whine to anyone who heard. As she started to walk away, she stumbled a little and Blaise reached out to catch her arm. "Alright there dear?" Madame Pomfrey asked as she was passing by the pair.

Cecilia went to answered but Blaise cut her off, "no she's not Madame Pomfrey, she still feels the effects of the Dementors from the train."

"Blaise," Cecilia hissed.

Madame Pomfrey grabbed her arm and led her to a bed. "Miss Black why haven't you told anyone?"

"Because I'm fine." She glanced over at Draco hoping he couldn't hear her, but he could. He was sitting up in his bed, his eyes narrowed her way glaring harshly. Madame Pomfrey shoved a potion into her hand urging her to drink it. She did as she was told and swallowed the potion in one gulp. "Thank you." After Madame Pomfrey walked away, she turned to glare at Blaise. "What the hell was that for?"

"Cecilia you weren't fine, I think you should ask Lupin why you still feel the effects of the Dementors."

"Or what, you'll ask for me?" her words were harsh and she felt bad after saying them. Blaise only turned to walk away. She hated to admit it, but he was right. If anyone knows more about the Dementors, it's the Defence Against the Dark Arts professor.

Instead of heading straight back to her common room, she decided to pay Professor Lupin a visit to see if he knew more. He was sitting alone in his classroom when she approached. "Professor Lupin, do you have a moment?"

The professor nodded and smiled as she walked in. "I was hoping you'd pay a visit Miss Black, how are you feeling after the incident on the train?"

"That's the thing professor, I haven't been the same since. I can still feel their effects from that day."

Lupin leaned forward on his hands and thought for a second. "Well, I can't say I'm surprised. They mistook you for Sirius Black for a moment there. They're quite interesting creatures, they can't actually see but they feel for the presence of their victims. Must've sensed the part of Black that lays in you Cecilia. How are you feeling now though?"

"Madame Pomfrey gave me a potion and I feel better thank you."

Lupin stood up and crossed the room the meet the girl halfway. "The Dementors are there to protect you, they shouldn't cause you anymore harm. But if you ever need anything Miss Black, my door is always open." Cecilia smiled and nodded before leaving the classroom. As usual, Sirius Black was causing her all her problems. And it was only the third day of school.

.....

By the end of the week, Cecilia was feeling much better. She was settled in her classes, Draco and her were back into their cycle of ignoring each other and staying out of the other's way. Blaise left her alone after she told him she went to Lupin, which was nice, but she still knew Draco knew. She hoped he wouldn't tell Lucius because that would cause her unnecessary problems.

Apart from Astronomy, Defence against the Dark Arts was Cecilia favorite class. It was definitely because Professor Lupin was her new favorite teacher. That explained why she was rushing to her class that next Monday morning after barely eating anything for breakfast.

When she got there, she sat alone at the back of the class. Lupin was busy pulling out a cabinet to the middle of the floor. "Morning Miss Black," he said without turning around.

"Morning professor," she answered back. The class continued to file in, and Cecilia watched quietly as everyone walked in. They were all chatting with their friends and giggling about their new school year crushes. Cecilia felt a pang of loneliness when she saw this. As much as she liked being alone, she sometimes wished she and that one person she could share all her unimportant secrets to. She couldn't do that with Draco, he would simply make fun of her for it.

"Morning class!" Lupin called breaking her out of her lonely thoughts. "Today we will be studying Boggarts. Now when you face a Boggart, it will turn itself into whatever frightens you the most. It only takes a simple spell to defeat them though, _Riddikulus_. While you're saying the spell, you must think of something funny and the Boggart will be defeated with your laughter."

Cecilia was scribbling down quick notes as Professor Lupin was talking and he barely heard him calling her name. "Miss Black," Lupin called again. "Care to go first?" She was frozen in her chair as Lupin waved a hand gesturing her forward. "Come stand in front of the cabinet Miss Black." She kept moving until she was position in from the large cabinet in the front of the classroom. "All right, wand at the ready."

Lupin waved his wand and the cabinet doors swung opened. Cecilia swore she was shaking, but she kept her wand up trying to get ready for whatever was about to step out. Whatever she was expecting, it wasn't what stepped out. She felt a shiver run down her spine as grey eyes met hers and a body stepped out of the cabinet. A barefoot hit the floor and Cecilia stepped back. She was suddenly aware of every pair of eyes staring at the back of her head.

Her Boggart had turned into Sirius Black and he was now standing right in front of her in the middle of the classroom. "Hello daughter," the Boggart rasped out in a deep voice that shook her to the core. Cecilia pointed a wand at it and yelled, " _Riddikulus_!" The Boggart stepped back slightly but was still in the form of her menacing father.

"Think of something funny!" she heard Professor Lupin call from the distance. She tried to picture something funny, but nothing was coming to mind. She was completely absorbed in her father's presence. She tried to remind herself that it was just a Boggart, but it was too lifelike. Sirius stepped forward and Cecilia stepped back bumping into the desks in the front row.

" _Riddikulus_ ," she heard from the side and Sirius Black turned into what looked like a younger version of himself in a dress. Everyone laughed and the Boggart coward away back into the cabinet. "Very nice try Miss Black, why don't you take a break."

Cecilia rushed to the back of the class and packed up her things before exiting the classroom in a haste. When she got into the hallway, she rested against the wall and slowly sunk down to the floor trying to catch her breath.

"Alright there Black?" Cecilia looked up and saw a ginger towering over her. Across the hall, the other twin stood with his arms crossed staring at her.

"Piss of Weasley," she answered standing up and shoving him out of the way. Then she stalked off not knowing where to go and not having anyone to talk to. Her worst fear was her father and she knew no one in that classroom gave a damn about how it made her feel. If she didn't feel lonely earlier that morning, she did now. A deep pit of loneliness settled into her stomach and she fought back tears.

It had only been a week, and Cecilia was already to go home.

.....

Two months had passed since the beginning of the school year and nothing was going Cecilia's way. Draco was still mad at her for not caring enough about his accident, Cecilia was more feared then usually since Sirius Black was still on the loose and the fact her Boggart was her father had gotten out and people were talking about it behind her back. The only person to actually confront her about it was her least favorite person and the conversation went south quickly.

"Black afraid of Black. Worried he's coming to get you Cecilia?" Fred had cornered her the next day after Potions class. "I'm surprised, I thought you'd be afraid of something like commitment or friends."

"Weasley if you don't leave me alone-"

"What'll you do? Send Sirius Black after me?" Cecilia had to resist slapping him in the face. Instead she shoved a finger into his chest pushing him back as a smirk grew on his face. He was enjoying this, he thrived for this. A reaction, knowing he'd gotten under Cecilia Black's skin.

"I'll destroy you myself." Cecilia tried to sound as intimidating as possible, but Fred only laughed.

"I'd love to see you try."

She tried to let it go, but every time she saw his face a flash of red blinded her. As if she didn't have anything else to worry about, she had to add Fred to the list. He was especially annoying this year, the one year she hoped he would back off. She should've known who she was dealing with.

The only thing she was remotely looking forward to, was the trip to Hogsmeade on Halloween. As much as she was nervous about leaving the safety of the castle, she needed to leave the castle. She also needed to stack up on sweets she could use to make herself temporarily feel better whenever she felt lonely.

Honeydukes was the first stop on her trip and was also the place she spent the most time and money. After she went to Zonko's to look at their new products but then Fred and George entered the store and she had to make a quick escape not wanting to deal with Fred Weasley on a day she was actually liking. Her last stop was The Three Broomsticks for a butterbeer of which she sipped on alone.

In her corner of The Three Broomsticks, Cecilia watched the crowds of students coming in and out of the shop. She watched Draco and his pact take up a big table in the center of the pub making too much noise for her liking. In walked Ron and Hermione moments after sending glares at her cousin and his friends. Fred and George also marched in talking to almost every group of students there. Cecilia got up to leave before she had to deal with them.

It was almost dinner time by the time Cecilia got back to the castle. She quickly dropped off her purchases before heading down to the Great Hall for dinner. She was seated next to Draco who only looked her way when he mentioned the Dementors as he shot an insult Potter's way. She wasn't sure if it was a stab at her or if he was worried about what had happened.

When she was done eating, she quickly made her way to her dorm wanting nothing more than to cuddle up in her bed and let her stomach digest all the sweets she'd just devoured. She'd just changed into her pyjamas when a loud banging came from outside of her dorm. "Everyone, gather around," she heard the Slytherin prefect call out. She walked out of her dorm slightly anxious about what was going on.

The rest of the Slytherins, half ready for bed and half just getting in from dinner, had made a group in the middle of the common room. "We've just been informed that Sirius Black is in the castle and we all need to gather in the Great Hall to sleep tonight until he is found!"

Cecilia felt her breath leave her lungs and she stood there shaking. She felt every pair of eyes focus their attention on her as she stood still, arms wrapped tightly around herself keeping her from falling apart. The prefect called her to forward and she walked forward hesitantly. He quickly ushered her out to the hall where Snape was waiting.

"Miss Black, your presence is required in the Great Hall," Snape said slowly drawing out each word. He had a scowl etched on his face and he looked angrier than Cecilia had ever seen him. She made her way down the Great Hall with Snape by her side, she assumed it was for her own safety.

When she got the Great Hall, the entire Gryffindor house was crowded around talking quietly. "Miss Black," Dumbledore called out making his way to her. "As you've heard your father has made his way into the castle, I wanted to let you know that we're searching the castle and you're safe here." He gestured to a sleeping spot next to where Harry Potter was sitting next to Ron and Hermione.

Cecilia sat down carefully and watched as the prefects from each house were directing their respected houses into different sections full of sleeping bags. They were being grouped by house, but not Cecilia. She was in the middle of the Gryffindors feeling extremely out of place. Even though none of them said anything, Cecilia could feel the three Gryffindors beside her whispering behind her back about her placement. She tried to ignore them as she curled up in her sleeping bag and tried to sleep though she knew it was impossible.

The students took a while to get all settle down but when they finally did, the only sound to be heard was the footsteps of the prefects monitoring the Great Hall. She laid still in her sleeping bag listening to Harry toss and turn beside her. Finally, after almost all the students were sleeping, she heard the teachers waltz back into the hall.

Their voices were faint as they spoke to one another probably reporting back what they had found in their search for Black. Two pairs of footsteps in particular got closer to where Cecilia was laying. She tried to focus in on what they were talking about. "How could he have gotten in Headmaster?" Snape asked.

"I have many theories, each more unlikely than the next," Dumbledore spoke softly. Cecilia had to concentrate to hear each word. Next to her, Harry had gone still, and she knew he was also listening in.

Snape spoke again, "Do you remember the conversation we had at the beginning of the term Headmaster?"

There was a pause. "I do, Severus." Dumbledore's tone of voice had changed from the soft tone he had only moments ago.

"It's hard to believe he got in without inside help-"

"Severus, I do not believe anyone in this castle helped Black in."

The footsteps paused right in front of were Cecilia was laying. She tried to steady her breathing to make it seem as though she was sleeping. A sigh left one of the professor's lips and the other spoke, "not even his daughter?"

Cecilia froze, she knew at least one person would think she snuck him in but the fact it was her professor, the head of her own house, hurt. Dumbledore was quick to defend her though, "Severus, her Boggart turned into Black, you can't seriously believe she would do such a thing."

Snape only scoffed and they moved on walking between the students. Cecilia knew she wasn't supposed to hear that, and she wished she didn't. She was not only hurt, but she knew that Harry, who had already been listening, heard what Snape said. She couldn't help, but wonder, if he thought that too.

She knew that if a rumor got out that she let Sirius in, she was done for. Her already awful reputation was down the drain and her life at Hogwarts was over. Things were already bad and yet somehow, they had gotten so much worst in just one day. The only day she had been excited for.


	3. The Confrontation

November brought the start of the Quidditch season which was something Cecilia was really looking forward to. She hoped that while everything else in her life was falling apart, Quidditch would be the one thing that kept her together.

Draco ended up pushing back the start of the Slytherin season thanks to his 'injured arm', so Gryffindor had to play Hufflepuff instead. It ended up being for the better, the first game of the season landed on a day where the winds were rough, and the clouds were pouring down rain. Marcus Flint made it very clear they were to go to the game and scout out the teams and their new playing styles. Cecilia didn't mind, watching Quidditch was something she enjoyed, even if it was Gryffindor and Hufflepuff.

She pulled on a thick sweater and then added a jacket for extra warmth. Finally, she grabbed a blanket throwing it around her shoulders and making her way down to the common room to meet the rest of the Slytherin Quidditch team. They all made their way down to the Quidditch pitch together, Cecilia trailing behind the testosterone heavy team.

It was freezing when they hit the outside air. Cecilia shivered slightly and pulled the blanket tighter around her small body. She wished she could ignore the fact she'd lost some weight after skipping a few meals here and there. She only did it because she wanted to be alone.

When the team got to their seats, she carefully sat beside Draco giving him a small look. "How's the arm?" She said just loud enough that he could hear her over the roaring rain.

"It's getting better thank you," he said civilly. He looked at her shivering under her layers and furrowed his eyebrows. "Are you okay Cecilia?" Surprisingly, he sounded as if he was genuinely worried about her.

She kept her eyes forward trying to make out the figures on each team. "I'm fine," she answered not sounding convincing at all. Draco dropped the subject also turning his attention to the field.

Cecilia was moderately worried for the teams as they tried to get into position to start the game. A couple students swayed slightly in the wind and she thought they might fall off their brooms. It wouldn't be a first in Quidditch, but it still was never a good time. She would bet anyone that at least one player was going to fall off their broom in this game. She was, again, so grateful Slytherin wasn't playing.

The game went on back and forth and Cecilia tried her best to follow the game though it was near impossible to see. She tried to analyse the new strategy that the Gryffindor Quidditch had adopted this year. Angelina and Alicia had a new complicated passing sequence back and forth that she tried to memorize with intention to break it up their game against Gryffindor. Hufflepuff had a new Keeper this year and she was actually good much to Cecilia's surprise.

A flash of red flew by and Cecilia knew it was one of the Gryffindor Beaters. That was something she was worried about, when they played Gryffindor, she was worried she'd be the target of the Weasley twins. Or one twin in particular. She knew they were actually good which made her job of staying on her broom so much harder.

It seems the Hufflepuff's were having the same issue she was worried about. A Bludger flew right pass the head of Hufflepuff's Seeker Cedric Diggory and she swore every girl in the stands gasped. Naturally they would, he was a pretty dreamy guy.

All of a sudden, Gryffindor captain Oliver Wood called a time out and the entire team landed in the mud. Beside her, Draco mumbled, "how much you want to bet Potter will fall of his broom?" Cecilia snickered thinking about her earlier thought. Draco looked shocked at her reaction to his hostility and followed up with a smirk.

Shortly after, the game resumed, and the rain seemed to be getting harder. "Do we have to stay through the whole game?" she whined out to whoever could hear.

"Hopefully Diggory will hurry up and catch the Snitch," Draco said back snickering as Harry momentarily lost his balance on his broom. Then the two Seekers shot up to the sky clearly having spotted to the Snitch. They disappeared out of sight into the clouds and everyone kept their eyes peeled on the sky waiting for whatever outcome would come to be.

The game was still playing out in front of them but everyone was more worried about the Snitch. It checked out, if one of the two boys caught it, it was game over and they all could go back inside the warm dry castle.

A yell broke through the sound of the rain breaking Cecilia out of her thought. She looked around as to why someone was screaming until she looked up and realized why. Out of the sky, Harry Potter was free falling at an alarming fast rate. She felt her stomach drop and she held her breath watching the scene unfold in front of her. Bodies were flying forward trying to catch the boy as he fell from sky, his body limp. He looked unconscious.

Then, a feeling washed over Cecilia's body. The same feeling she got months earlier on the train to Hogwarts. Her body started to get weaker and her body temperature dropped even lower than it had already been. She didn't even get to see what happened next because her eyes were glossing over and her vision was going black just like before. A hand grabbed onto her arm steadying her trembling body. "Cecilia," Draco's voice called from what sounded like far away even though he was standing right next to her.

"I need to get out of here," she mumbled as her body slumped onto Draco's. She felt him leading her out of the stands back to the castle. It took the pair longer than usual due to her body feeling numb. She tried to focus on what was going on in front of her, but her vision was hazy. She barely registered Draco's questions, each of which she waved off not being strong enough to answer.

When they reached the castle, she noticed they were headed up stairs and not down to the dungeons. "Draco take me back to my dorm," she weakly commanded.

"Cecilia you need to go to the hospital wing."

"No, everyone will be there because of Potter." She heard Draco laugh because of what happened to Potter then he changed their direction downwards. Once they reached the Slytherin common room, she managed to drag herself up to her dorm and climb into her bed. Before she fully blacked out, she grabbed a chocolate frog remembering the night on the train when Lupin made her eat chocolate.

Once she was finished, she laid down on her bed trying to stop the room from spinning. Eventually, the darkness took over and she fell asleep.

.....

The days after the first Quidditch match of the season, Cecilia could feel Draco watching her carefully. He himself had recovered from his arm injuries and was now focusing all this attention on her apart from the odd time he'd recreate Harry's fall from the same day. It brought him so much joy and Cecilia couldn't understand why.

She learned that it was the Dementors who made Harry pass out and that's how he fell of his broom. Cecilia felt bad because she also felt their effect as severely as he did and that just as well could've been her. She didn't say anything to Flint though and when their first Qudditch game rolled around, she was terrified the same thing would happen to her. Her constant worrying caused her to play poorly and Flint was furious with her performance. They won the game, so she didn't see the problem but to Flint, they didn't win by enough. She knew Draco had clued into why her performance was so bad, but he made no move to defend her and she much preferred it that way. She would simply have to get over it and move on.

To make herself feel better after the second Dementor attack, Cecilia drowned herself in all the sweets she'd bought herself during the first Hogsmeade trip. She was almost out of her stash by the time the second trip came around the weekend before Christmas Holidays. She needed to purchase her Christmas gifts for the family and also more chocolate frogs in case the Dementors kept showing up when they weren't supposed to.

She walked by herself to Hogsmeade and did her shopping quickly. She was grateful the winter weather that Saturday was decent, and she only needed a sweater, jacket and scarf to keep her warm. She was still fighting the fact she constantly had a chill, now she knew it was more of a figurative chill than a literal one. It was the kind of chill you got when someone was watching you. Cecilia felt as if she was continually being watched. The only problem was people were constantly ignoring her and she didn't know where it was coming from.

She made her way back to the castle early that Saturday after buying all her necessities from Hogsmeade, but decided she wanted to keep enjoying the fresh air without completely freezing her arse off. The castle was fairly empty due to everyone still crowding around the shops in Hogsmeade so it wasn't hard to find a deserted spot she could sit by herself and just relax.

Cecilia stared at the sky watching the snow fall softly. She'd decided to sit on a bench facing the Forbidden Forest. She sat quietly by herself for a few minutes before rigide chill coursed through her body giving her the feeling she constantly got. Someone was watching her. She looked around at the students in her vicinity trying to see who it was.

The Weasley twins were near the castle building an army of snowman and enchanting them to throw snowballs at anyone who past and a small group of Ravenclaws were arguing amongst themselves. No one was paying attention to her, never mind watching her.

She hoped the feeling would go away as it usually did after a few minutes, but it stayed with her. She turned her attention towards the Forbidden Forest and scanned the opening wondering if someone was hiding in there. Cecilia's eyes then caught the eyes of a big black dog lurking in the tree line. It reminded her of the dog she saw in the backyard of Malfoy manor during the summer. It had the same pair of glowing eyes.

Cecilia stood up and took a few steps closer to get a better look. She then noticed that the dog's eyes were the same colour of hers. Grey, not a usual eye color for a human but maybe for a dog. She wanted to get a closer look to determine if she had in fact seen this dog before but was interrupted by the sound of her last name yelled from a distance.

When she turned around, Harry Potter was storming through the snow towards her. Behind him, Ron and Hermione followed begging him not to do what he was about to do.

"Black!" Harry called again as Cecilia tried to grab her things and quickly escape the wrath of the third year Gryffindor still headed her way. Harry reached out for Cecilia and pulled her back by the strap of her bag letting it fall to the ground. He then reached into his jacket and pulled out his wand pointing it in her face.

"Your father killed my parents!" Harry cried attracting the attention of everyone who could hear his accusations. "He was their best friend and he betrayed them!" Cecilia pulled out her own wand shoving it in Harry's face just like he was doing to her.

"Don't test me Potter," she grumbled back for only Harry to hear. She tried to act intimidating hoping Harry would back off but her reaction only made him angrier. She looked up and saw Harry's two best friends watching with looks of worry spread across their faces.

Harry poked Cecilia in the face with his wand and Cecilia stepped back moving her wand back prepared to hex him and make a quick escape before she felt arms wrap around her pulling her back and stopping her wand movement. Across from her, Harry was pulled back by a Weasley twin, George, stopping him from whatever magic he was going to throw her way.

"Don't," a low voice spoke into her ear, while arms pulled her further back into that person's chest. She ignored the fact her entire body was now pressed against Fred's body and how it made her go red in the face.

"Let me go Weasley," Cecilia spit back wanting nothing more than get out of the situation she was forced into.

"You need to calm down Black," he said back still not loosening his grip on her. Cecilia tried wiggling free from his grasp when suddenly a voice made her freeze on spot.

"What is the meaning of this?" Professor McGonagall asked in a harsh tone. Fred loosened his arms from around her making her stumble forward from the sudden lack of support.

"It's nothing professor," Hermione started to explain but Cecilia and Harry's wands were still drawn and pointed at one another. McGonagall took one look at the scene and sighed heavily at what she saw.

"Black and Potter follow me," she demanded. Cecilia picked up her bag, that was now soaked from the snow, and followed Professor McGonagall back into the castle with Harry stomping loudly behind her. She led them through the halls before stopping in front of Professor Lupin's classroom. McGonagall knocked on the door twice before letting herself in, Cecilia and Harry followed close behind.

Professor Lupin was staring out the window in his classroom before turning his attention to the party that had just entered the room. "Professor," Lupin greeted McGonagall before flicking his eyes to the two students following her.

"Remus, it seems Black and Potter have been fighting," Professor McGonagall said earning a frown from Professor Lupin. "I was hoping maybe you'd be able to help sort this out." Lupin nodded slowly ushering for her and Harry to take a seat at two of the desks closest to the front of the classroom. McGonagall left wishing Lupin good luck before closing the door behind her leaving Cecilia and Harry behind.

Professor Lupin stood in place for a few seconds before finally leaning on his desk right in front of the two children. "You know, I always used to have to keep your fathers in check for ganging up on other students, never on each other." Lupin's confession shocked her and she could see out of the corner of her eye that Harry was just as intrigued as she was to hear more.

"You knew our fathers?" she asked not bothering to hide the shock in her voice.

"Yes, I was even friends with them."

"Until Sirius Black betrayed my parents, killed his friend and got thrown into Azkaban," Harry spit out, venom laced in each word.

Cecilia hung her head in embarrassment, she had never been more embarrassed about who her father was than sitting in the room with Harry and Lupin. Harry, still fuming about his newfound information about the night of his parent's death, and Lupin who wore a saddened look on his face.

"What Sirius Black did to your parents was unforgivable," Lupin said directing his words to Harry. "But his actions are not Cecilia's fault. Cecilia is not her father." The last words, though mostly for Harry, Lupin said staring directly at her as if to remind her that she's not like her father. He must've still had in mind the Boggart incident from the beginning of the year when he said this.

Harry turned towards Cecilia and said nothing. He looked carefully at her before getting up and leaving the classroom without another word. Professor Lupin sighed and addressed her quietly. "He's just projecting Miss Black, it's a hard time for all of us right now."

Cecilia nodded her head softly and stood to leave. Before doing so, a last idea crossed her brain and she spoke quietly, almost as if she were embarrassed to even be asking. "Professor?" Lupin looked up encouraging her to go on. "Did you know my mother too?" Lupin looked slightly surprised by the question but smile slightly.

"Stella Malfoy, of course I knew her. I'm sorry about what happened to her. We weren't friends like your father and I were, but she was a force to be reckoned with."

She processed this new information about her mother and then asked another question. "Were they ever in love? My parents I mean."

Lupin paused for a long time getting lost thinking about the past. "Yes, I believe they were at one time. Though she didn't tell Sirius about your birth, she kept you hidden until her death which I found rather odd." Taken aback by what Lupin said she furrowed her eyebrows.

"Do you think she knew how dangerous he was at the time?" she inquired suddenly more worried about her father potentially lurking around Hogwarts.

"I'm not sure Cecilia, all I know is that Black never knew, not until he was safely tucked away in Azkaban."

"Who told him?" Cecilia blurted out surprised by her forwardness. Lupin looked taken aback by the change of volume in her voice.

"I believe this is a conversation you should be having with your aunt Miss Black. Have a nice holiday," the professor said suddenly uncomfortable with the curious girl's nonstop questions. Cecilia took that as her cue and left the classroom in a hurry walking quickly back to her dormitory to start packing for the Christmas break. Her conversation with Professor Lupin stuck in her brain.

She was hidden from him. Her mother knew how dangerous Sirius was and hid her from him. Cecilia suddenly felt herself start to shake. He body betrayed her, and she collapsed onto her bed, tears soaking her pillowcase.

She must've fallen asleep between sobs and was woken a couple hours later by Pansy. "Draco's looking for you," she said rudely and walked out of the dormitory.

Cecilia picked herself of her bed and went to meet Draco in the Slytherin common room. He was sitting with Crabbe and Goyle on either side, but the moment Cecilia came into sight, he quickly dismissed them leaving the common room basically empty.

"I heard what happened between you and Potter," Draco said. "Want me to hex him?" she shook her head no and plopped down on the couch beside her cousin. "Are you okay?" He continued getting a good look at his cousin who looked like a mess. She knew that he meant more then just Potter. He was obviously still worried about what had happened a month ago with the Dementors, but Cecilia was more focused on her newfound information about her parents.

"I just found out my mother hid me from Sirius Black. When she died, someone told him after he had already been arrested. I think she hid me because she knew he was dangerous."

Draco huffed a breath. "That's a lot to take in." Cecilia rolled her eyes at her cousin's bleak reply. Draco continued changing the subject, "have you packed for the holidays yet?" She shook her head no earning a disapproving look from Draco. "The train leaves tomorrow Cece, you should go do that now."

She got up from her spot on the couch and started making her way back to her room, annoyed she had gotten out of bed for such an unsatisfying conversation. Before she could turn the corner, she looked back at Draco and said, "don't do anything to Potter Draco."

"No guarantees," he answered with a look that told exactly Cecilia what he was going to do. Luckily for him, she had to pack and wasn't really in the mood to intervene in whatever Draco was planing. She had bigger problems to worry about. She was more worried than ever that Sirius Black wasn't here for a reunion, but for revenge. She was convinced if he got the chance, that her father would kill her.

.....

Holidays at Malfoy Manor were as cold as the weather outside. Lucius wasn't a fan of fancy decorations and it took a lot of convincing to even put a tree up. He claimed they were too messy and didn't see a purpose. Narcissa took Cecilia and Draco's side when they were younger trying to give them a proper childhood but now that they were older, the tree decorating stopped and the only thing that indicated it was Christmas was a small pile of presents placed at the end of the table.

This year, Cecilia wasn't feeling in the celebrating spirit with unanswered questions about her past floating in her brain still waiting to be answered. Draco asked her to keep it to herself so they could have a problem free Christmas, but as the days went on, she found it harder and harder to keep her mouth shut.

On Christmas night, the Malfoys and Cecilia crowded around the long table and dug into a Christmas feast they had every year. She was usually quite excited for the feast and all its yummy dishes. This year, her plate was half empty and she was slowly feeding herself small portions at a time. Across the table Draco kept an eye on her, knowing she was struggling. He didn't say anything hoping not to bring attention to her unusual behaviour. He wasn't the only one who noticed and Narcissa, who didn't know better, asked Cecilia what was on her mind.

"Did Sirius Black kill my mother?" Cecilia blurted out the looming question that had been bouncing around her head causing Lucius to drop his fork on his plate. Draco sharply looked up at her shocked at her suddenness. Narcissa froze, fork midway to her mouth and gave her a look.

"No," Lucius replied curtly picking up his fork again.

"Did my mother know how dangerous he was? Is that why she hid me from him?"

"No," Lucius said, annoyance laced in his voice.

"Is Sirius Black going to kill me?" The last question came out in a whisper.

"Don't be ridiculous Cecilia," her uncle replied harshly. "One more question and you're finishing dinner in your room."

"Who told him? Who told Sirius about me?"

Lucius, red in the face, slammed his hand down on the table. "LEAVE!"

Cecilia, angered with the lack of answers, picked up her plate and walked away from the table. Behind her she could hear a heavy sigh come from Lucius; she kept walking. When she finally reached her room, she slammed her door, praying the sound would echo and Lucius would hear.

She placed the food on her desk knowing very well she wasn't going to touch it again and made her way onto her bed. She sunk her body into her bed face first trying to feel something other than the numbness that was taking over. Her anger had now sizzled out and she almost felt bad about her outburst at dinner. Key word being almost.

She felt bad that she went against her promise to keep quiet for Draco. She felt bad that she exploded on Narcissa when all she wanted was to know what was bothering her niece. She however did not feel bad that she'd managed to piss Lucius off. She knew he was no fan of her father and barely acknowledged the fact Cecilia was anyone but Stella's child. He couldn't admit that as much as she was a Stella's, she was also Sirius'.

Cecilia was expecting Narcissa to have followed her into the room to talk or even Draco to come yell at her for disrupting, but when Lucius swung the door wide open, she was frozen in spot. She couldn't remember the last time Lucius was ever in her room or the last time he opted to talk to her willingly. He shut the door behind him and Cecilia felt a trickle of fear fill her veins. "Cecilia," he spoke coldly.

She wondered if he was expecting an apology. He wasn't going to get one from her. She decided not to answer, waiting for Lucius to make the next move. "That little stunt you pulled at dinner was absolutely unacceptable." Silence, she wasn't going to budge. He wasn't going to make her feel bad. Lucius rose his eyebrows in surprise, he was defiantly expecting a reaction. Little did he know his niece was far too tired and far too stubborn to act as her normal self.

"What disturbs me more, is the fact you dared to ask those ridiculous questions!" He was yelling now. "I don't know where in your bloody brain you thought grilling us about your no-good father would be appropriate dinner conversation! That's all he was Cecilia, a no-good blood traitor who poisoned your mother and got her killed!"

She was taken back. She had never heard Lucius talk about Stella and Sirius in the same sentence before. What she was stuck on though was what he said about the two of them. 'Did Sirius get my mother killed?' she thought. Lucius said Sirius didn't kill her but that didn't mean he wasn't responsible for getting her killed. It was never something she thought to be a possibility before. It fit with the story though and it broke her heart. The more she uncovered about the past, the messier it got.

Lucius wasn't finished though, "as for who told him, your lovely aunt did that against all moral judgement it seems. If it were up to me, you would've been a proper Malfoy with no attachments to your useless father. Seems your mother trusted Narcissa more than me and look at how you turned out." He paused looking Cecilia up and down frowning. "Worthless."

Cecilia fought back her tears of anger. If she were to sum up how she'd been feeling the last four months, it was with that one word. Worthless. It hurt because he was right. She just stared at him unblinking as her eyes started to sting. Though just months before she admitted she'd give anything to be a full Malfoy, right now she regretted it. She'd rather be tied to a mass murderer than Lucius Malfoy.

"Get out," she whispered.

Lucius glared at her with unforgiving eyes. "This is my house; you do not have the right to tell me what too do." He looked at her trunk in the corner of the room. "Tomorrow you can go back to Hogwarts, I don't want moping around here anymore."

She should have been upset that Lucius was simply casting her away, but she would rather mope around Hogwarts than around Malfoy Manor. She was surprised that only four months ago she wanted to stay and not go to Hogwarts. He left the room shortly after and she could hear an argument between Narcissa and Lucius from down the hall. It seemed as though Lucius won the argument which was no surprise.

The next day, Cecilia quickly said goodbye to Narcissa and apologized for her outburst from the night before. "I've packed your presents in your bag," Narcissa whispered in her ear before pulling away. She tried to smile, but it was a weak one. She grabbed her trunk in one hand and reached for the portkey with her free one.

The air around Cecilia changed and her grip tightened around her trunk. Finally, after a few seconds, she landed on her back in the middle of Hogsmeade. The snow beneath her was thankfully soft enough to break both her and her trunk's fall. She got up and brushed off the snow before picking up her trunk and making her way back to the school.

When she reached the castle, it was fairly empty. There weren't many students who hung around for the holidays and it made sense why. They were away from their families for months on end, so it was nice to see them for a couple weeks. Funny enough, Cecilia was practically banished from her house.

When she reached her Slytherin dorm, there was a large package situated on her bed. She put her trunk down and opened it to see the gifts from the Malfoys laying carefully on top. It wasn't from them then. She walked over eyeing the package carefully. It was clearly a broomstick, but she was more worried about from who it could be from. There was no card with it and Cecilia couldn't think of anyone who would gift her something. It was too suspicious for her to just let it go so she exited her dorm trying to find Snape. He was head of the house, maybe be knew something.

Snape was in his office chatting with McGonagall when she entered. "Good afternoon professors," she greeted timidly. They dropped their conversation in the presence of the young witch immediately turning their attention to her instead.

McGonagall spoke first, "Miss Black when did you get here? Surely I remember you leaving for home earlier this week!"

Cecilia looked down embarrassed, she knew this question was coming and she had no easy way of answering it. "I got in a bit of an argument with my uncle and he sent me back." McGonagall looked at her with pity in her eyes, it reminded her of the look Narcissa would give her from time to time.

Snape broke the awkward silence, "how can we help you?"

"Professor Snape, do you happen to know who left a package for me in my dorm?" McGonagall acted first, color draining from her face. They both stepped forward towards her looking worried.

Snape brushed past Cecilia as he left the office probably making his way to the dorms. McGonagall stepped in front of her, "Miss Black, what did the package look like?"

"Well I didn't open it, but it looked like a broomstick." She watched her professor start towards the door and followed her. They were making their way back to the dorm room when Snape stepped out of the Slytherin common room into the hall with Cecilia's package. Floating beside him was a Firebolt; that must've been the package.

"Just like his Minerva, has to be from Black."

Her eyes widened, "Sirius Black?" she asked in shock.

Snape didn't answer her question, instead he continued to address McGonagall. "I'll give it to Madam Hooch for the striping process."

"Thank you, Severus," Snape left with her broom and McGonagall turned to Cecilia again. "Just a precaution Miss Black, you'll have your broom back in a couple of weeks."

She nodded then dared to ask, "Did Professor Snape say the broom was from Sirius Black?"

"Yes, Mr Potter received one as well. We just want to make sure Black hasn't done anything to tamper with it." Cecilia's stomach sank, it would make sense that Black would tamper with it to hurt her and Harry. She excused herself from the professor and made her way back to her dorm. She wasn't wanted to home where she felt safest from her father and when she was at school, the danger of Sirius Black followed her everywhere.

When the new year hit less than a week later, she took a page from the muggles and made a new year wish. She wished for the second half of the school year to go better than the first. She didn't think it could get any worse but then again, she has proven herself wrong before and the new year was full of surprises she wasn't anywhere near ready for.


	4. The Truth

January came with the students coming back from the holidays crowding the halls again. Draco got back from Malfoy Manor with so many questions and Cecilia provided him with one answer that answered all his questions. "Your dad called me worthless and kicked me out." Draco didn't seem surprised, but he apologized anyways on behalf of his father. Cecilia explained it wasn't his job to do so.

February came and went without Cecilia taking much notice. The only thing that remotely made her feel bad was Valentine's Day. The couples paraded around the school reminding Cecilia just how lonely she was. She barely had friends to hang out from day to day and yet not having a boyfriend bothered her the most that day. She tried not thinking too much of it knowing she was far from getting someone to fall in love with her, she could barely get people to talk to her.

March marked the return of the Quidditch season giving Cecilia a second thing to focus on. They had to win their next match by a lot if they wanted to make it to the cup finals in April and she was determined to make it up from her poor performance last game to carry the team to victory. She had received her Firebolt back and had wowed the entire Slytherin the first practice back.

Draco was the only one suspicious about it though, she hadn't told him where it came from and it drove him nuts. She didn't know how to tell him Sirius Black gifted her an expensive broom because she didn't understand it herself. For someone she thought was trying to kill her, gifting her an expensive broom was out of character. She wanted to approach Harry about it, but their last encounter was nowhere near pleasant and she had no plans on a repeat.

The Firebolt ended up helping Slytherin come to a great victory which put them two hundred points ahead for the Quidditch house cup. They had to play Gryffindor which Cecilia wasn't looking forward to. The advantage of the Firebolt was basically cancelled out on both sides due to both Harry and Cecilia owning one.

The week leading up to the match was full of tension between the two houses, more tension than usual which lead to many fights between students. Even Cecilia who tried to stay out of it found herself arguing with Fred who wouldn't leave her alone. It was just petty bantering, but he still found a way to get under her skin and she knew he loved it.

The morning of the match, the entire school was buzzing. The other two houses had decided that they were against the Slytherin team and had sided with Gryffindor. Cecilia couldn't blame them; their house had an awful reputation. It only fuelled her fire to win. Draco looked worried that morning about having to go up against Harry and the Firebolt, but she tried to remind him she also had one. "Right, your mystery Firebolt, how could I forget." Sarcasm dripped in his voice and she tried to convince herself it was just pregame jitters fueling his anger.

The energy from the morning carried over to when the entire school was filling the stands and the teams were in their respected dressing room preparing for the match of the school year. Cecilia gripped her Firebolt in hand as both teams made their way to the middle of the pitch. As they were passing Gryffindor team, Fred grabbed her arm stopping her. "Good luck Black, I've got my eye on you." Cecilia just smirked and winked at him making him glare.

Madame Hooch went through her usual pregame rules as the two teams just glared at each other not listening to a word. She kept emphasizing that she wanted a clean game, but she should've known who she was talking to. The game was going to be nowhere near clean and the glares between teams solidified that. At the whistle, both teams kicked up in the air and the match begun.

Cecilia barely registered the words of commentator Lee Jordan as she zipped around the field trying to get the Quaffle and score some points. Every once in a while, she felt a Bludger whip in her direction, and she knew it was Fred's doing. It fuelled her game even more and she retaliated by scoring a goal. The game was fast pace and gruesome. Cecilia was playing the best she'd played all season, but the Gryffindor chasers had more skill than she remembered.

She zoomed around the air watching players bump into each other and Bludgers hitting people left right and center. There were penalties, bloody noses, and lots of swearing from each player. It was an exciting match for the spectators, but for the players, it was almost like a game of survival.

When she scored her next goal, a Bludger whipped right past her ear hitting the post beside her. When she looked up, Fred Weasley was staring her with a smirk on his face. This was exactly what she was worried about, being targeted by Fred. She knew if she didn't do something, the next one he sent her way wouldn't miss and would send her flying. As much as she wanted to chase after Angelina who was now in possession of the Quaffle, Fred needed to be taken care of. She tilted her broomstick towards him and flew in his direction. She almost saw fear in his eyes as he turned his broom to get away but Cecilia was faster and she reached out to grab him trying to throw him off his broom.

Just as she grabbed him, the crowd erupted and was cheering Harry's name. He had caught the Snitch. It didn't matter because now Fred had grabbed Cecilia's shoulder trying to knock her off her own broomstick. "Black," he hissed, "what the bloody hell are you doing?" She jerked forward pushing him backwards and they both lost their balance. As Fred fell backwards, he grabbed Cecilia's arm pulling her off her broom as well.

Cecilia started screaming as she and Fred fell from their brooms while everyone below them was celebrating the Gryffindor win. Fred pulled her closer by the arm, so she was flush against his body. He wrapped his arms around her body securing her as they both braced for the landing. Just as they were about the hit the ground, someone shouted a spell in their direction stopping them from hitting the ground. They floated in mid-air for a moment before plopping down into the grass. Cecilia rolled off of Fred's body and turned to him, "you could have killed me you moron!"

Fred's eyes shot out, "WHAT? You shoved me you dim-witted-"

"The Bludger!" Cecilia shouted back stalking forward shoving a finger in his chest. He grabbed her wrist pulling it off his chest and snorting in her face.

"You're unbelievable you crazy bit-" Fred was cut off by Malfoy grabbing her shoulder pulling her back and out of Fred's grip.

Draco shoved Cecilia aside before turning to face Fred himself. "Get your poor bloody traitor hands off of her Weasley!"

Fred's nose flared with rage and went to step forward before George pulled him back shouting, "WE WON!"

Cecilia barely registered the crowd celebrating, she was zoned in on Fred. He took one last look at the pair of Slytherins before stalking away with his twin. "What the hell was that about?" Draco asked in her ear pulling her out of the crowd.

"Bloody Weasley," was all she muttered as she picked up her broom that had fallen and marched off the field. They lost, she was angry because they had lost, but even more enraged at Fred. He could have killed her. Cecilia kept walking past the dressing rooms to the castle not bothering to stop. She needed to calm down.

As she walked everything that had gone wrong this year flooded her brain. Sirius Black breaking out of Azkaban, the Dementors, Snape's accusation, Harry's accusation, her outburst with Lupin who was now avoiding her, her argument with Lucius, getting kicked out of Malfoy Manor, her loneliness, her father, her cousin, her uncle, her aunt, her professors, her life. All tied together by the Quidditch match and Fred Weasley.

At least it couldn't get worse. This had to be the worst of it. Right?

.....

The entire school celebrated Slytherin's defeat for weeks after the match. It took Cecilia just as long to calm down after her outburst at the match. Her list of miseries was stuck in her brain as she tried to deal with them one by one. Nothing much was in her control, but a couple things were, and she tried to set them right before the school year ended.

Yet the school year was quickly coming to an end. Exams were being taken, the points were being tallied up for house cup and students were sharing their plans for the summer break. Cecilia was nervous about going home after her outburst at Christmas, but Draco assured her that she had much bigger things to worry about. She knew he was talking about her father who hadn't been caught yet and as much as it bothered her, she couldn't control it. She could however apologize for some of her actions that she thought to be out of place.

She ended up apologizing to Fred and he barely grunted as a response. At least he had been leaving her alone which she appreciated, even if it was because he was pissed at her for attacking him. She wanted to say something to Harry, but she didn't know how to approach him, there was so much there to unwrap and she wasn't sure how to. Finally, she thought back to her small outburst with Lupin. He was only trying to help, and Cecilia took her frustration out on him.

She couldn't help that no one knew the full story of what happened between her mother and father. It was frustrating not having all the answers, but it was also about time that she stopped projecting that on everyone else and accepted the fact that whatever was going on in Stella Malfoy's mind at the time of her birth was buried with her. There was no knowing now.

As for her father, she still couldn't understand why her mother wanted Sirius Black to know about her, but she knew there must've been a reason. That thought also ate her up.

Of all people who might've known more, she was wondering if Professor Lupin had an idea since he knew both her parents and was a little more open to talking about them than her aunt and uncle.

First, she had to apologize and hoped he would be willing to answer the questions she's sure he has tried avoiding by avoiding her.

Lupin's classroom door was shut tight when she approached it. She was hoping her small visit wouldn't disrupt the teacher too much, but since school was almost over and she wasn't certain she was going to get another chance to ask him since given the previous track record of Defense Against the Dark Arts teachers. With only a moment of hesitation, Cecilia lifted her fist and knocked quietly on the door. A moment later, the door swung open revealing Lupin hunched over his desk observing a thick piece of parchment.

"Miss Black," he said without looking up. "How can I help you?"

She paused for a moment trying to figure out how he knew it was her before looking up but dropped the thought, curiosity of her parents filling its spot. "I wanted to apologize about our encounter before the holidays."

Lupin gave Cecilia a puzzled look. "That was many months ago, water under the bridge." He glanced down at his desk and frowned slightly, he looked up a second later. "Is that all?"

"There was one more thing," she started carefully, not wanting a repeat of their last conversation. "I wasn't sure who else to ask." Lupin nodded and she took this as a sign to go on. "After I was born, my mother told my Aunt Narcissa to tell Sirius Black about me." Cecilia paused assessing the look on her professor's face. He looked curious so she voiced her last thought. "I wanted to know if you had any idea why she would've wanted him to know if she went through all the trouble of hiding me in the first place?"

Lupin took a moment to think, eyes shifting back and forth from the parchment on his desk and the girl standing before him. "Your mother and Sirius had a complicated relationship I never understood. My guess is she wanted to protect you from the war, so she hid you. There was a lot going on at the time and your mother was in a particular position herself. As for why she wanted Sirius to know, my guess is she wanted you to have a parent even after she passed."

Cecilia took a moment to assess what Lupin said. She'd guessed that it was for protection, but she needed to know from what or from who. She didn't know much about her mother, the bits and pieces she did know only told her one thing. Her mother was a very mysterious woman. She was still convinced there was more. "I think my mother kept her true intentions from everybody though," she said to her professor. "I was hoping maybe she told them to you."

"If there's anything I know about Stella Malfoy, it's that she had a reason for everything. Even if no one could understand her actions, they were for a reason. There was only one person who knew Stella more than her family did and even he didn't know her all that well."

"Siruis," she finished for him. Lupin nodded.

"I'm afraid he may be the only person with answers to your questions." Cecilia nodded understanding the hidden message in his words. It was time to let it go. Cecilia lingered a moment wondering if Professor Lupin was going to continue or if she should leave. Before she could decide, Lupin hunched over his desk once more observing the parchment again. Cecilia was confused as to why his attention was so focused on the parchment until she got a look itself.

The thick paper looked like map of Hogwarts and there were little pictures moving. "What's that?" Cecilia nodded towards the large piece of parchment.

Lupin moved towards the map looking down on it furrowing his eyebrows. "It's a gag map," he answered almost immediately. She got a better look at the front as Lupin tried to close the map quickly before she could actually realize what it was.

"I recognize that name," Cecilia said. She brushed a finger over the name Padfoot. "My mother tried writing a letter to a Padfoot, I found the scrap in my room."

"What did the letter say," Professor Lupin asked staring down at where her finger lay on the map.

"Dear Padfoot, her name is Cecilia Black. I'm sorry. Love, S." She recited from memory. She loved her mother's handwriting in the letter. "I looked up wizards with the first or last name Padfoot, but I couldn't find anyone. Must've been a code name. Do you recognize it?"

"Hmm," Lupin said completely distracted by the moving figures on the map.

Cecilia narrowed her eyes wondering if he did in fact know who this Padfoot was but when she looked down, she noticed something that pulled her attention. "Professor, is that my name?" Lupin followed her gaze to the part of the map that showed two footprints side by side. Remus Lupin and Cecilia Black.

"Miss Black, I think it may time to call it a night," Lupin urged acting very strange all of a sudden.

"What is this actually?" her eyes were full of curiosity, wonder and a hint of mischief. Lupin couldn't help but notice how Sirius used to get the same look in his eyes from time to time.

"A magical map of Hogwarts," he answered finally.

"Wow, it's got almost everybody on here," she remarked pushing open the parchment to show each part of the castle. Lupin knew he should've stopped her from observing any farther, but something caught his eye in the corner of the map. His body went stiff and Cecilia noticed immediately. "What is it professor?" She looked at the corner of the map his gaze was fixed on and felt as if her soul had left her body.

In the corner, in between Hagrid's hut and the castle, she noticed four figures walking. Harry Potter, Ron Weasley, Hermione Granger and a name she recognized but thought it to be a joke, Peter Pettigrew. They were about to pass the Whomping Willow when a fifth pair of footprints came running at them. Sirius Black. She gasped loudly breaking Lupin from his stare.

"Cecilia, go back to your dormitory and do not come out," he instructed strictly rising quickly from his desk and making his way towards the door.

"With all due respect professor, I think that map is lying. Peter Pettigrew is dead, my father killed him!"

Lupin paused a moment. "The map never lies."

Her eyes grew wide. If the map doesn't lie, that means Sirius Black is by the Whomping Willow and her school mates were in danger. She watched Lupin's figure retreat into the halls of the school and she quickly followed him. She felt as if because Sirius Black was her father, she was partly responsible for whatever happened to Harry and his friends tonight. And she knew if something did happen, Harry wouldn't hesitate to point a finger in her direction.

Lupin was moving so fast he didn't even notice the student following his twists and turns of the hallways. When he finally reached the doors, Lupin pushed them open with force and broke into a full-blown run towards the Whomping Willow. Cecilia followed without trace until he stopped before the tree and turned around. "Cecilia I cannot stress how important it is that you go inside immediately."

Cecilia was about to protest when they heard a noise come from inside the tree. Lupin turned his attention away from her quickly and immobilized the tree. He climbed in the hole at the trunk and Cecilia followed ignoring his second request for her to go inside.

"He's my father professor, if something happens, I feel like it'll be my fault." Lupin shook his head and picked up his pace leading down the tunnel. "Where are we?" she asked.

Lupin didn't answer. He was lost in his thoughts about what the map had just revealed. They walked in silence, practically running down the small tunnel. Finally, after what felt like forever, a white light appeared at the end and the sound of voices filled Cecilia's ears.

When they entered the opening, Cecilia noticed the familiar build of the place. "Are we in the Shrieking Shack?" Before Lupin could answer, Hermione's voice came from above.

"WE'RE UP HERE!" She yelled. Lupin moved towards the voice. "WE'RE UP HERE, SIRIUS BLACK, QUICK!

Cecilia followed her professor's movement up the stairs. When they got to a door, Lupin wasted no time pulling out his wand and busting open the door between them and Sirius Black. Still standing behind Lupin, Cecilia tried to look around the room to see what was going on. She noticed Ron laying across the floor, she noticed Harry and Hermione standing close to the door and finally she noticed a thin, frail looking man crumpled on the floor, a wand pointed to his face.

Lupin had casted a spell sending the wands Harry and Hermione were holding his way. "Where is he, Sirius?" Lupin then asked, wand pointed in the criminal's face.

'Where is who?' she thought to herself as she kept herself hidden behind Lupin's frame watching from behind. She met Harry's eyes who also looked surprised at Lupin's question. They both turned their gaze to Sirius who was still crumpled at Harry's feet. He kept looking at Lupin before he finally raised a trembling finger and pointed it towards Ron.

"But then," Lupin started, they were all staring at Ron who was still on the floor cradling what looked like his pet rat. "Why hasn't he shown himself before?" Lupin paused on this thought before he shifted to the side making Cecilia slightly more visible to the people in the room. "Unless you switched without telling me?" she looked up at the back of Lupin's head in confusion as he shook it slightly and then started to lower his wand.

Cecilia took a step back into the hallway as he did so. 'Why was he lowering his defenses?' she thought. His next move surprised her even more as he reached down and grabbed Sirius' hand helping him to his feet to embrace him in a hug. Sirius' gaze made its way over Lupin's shoulder and landed on Cecilia who had pulled out her wand and was pointing it at Sirius.

"My god," she heard him whisper before pulling away from Lupin and pushing him slightly to the side to get a better view of Cecilia who was standing in the hallway scared out of her mind. Sirius went to step towards her before Hermione cried out, "I DON'T BELIEVE IT!" Everyone turned towards Hermione who was pointing at Lupin with wide eyes.

"Hermione," Lupin started, trying to calm her down.

"I haven't told anyone, I've been covering for you," she continued on. "And you're his friend. You helped him into the castle, it wasn't Cecilia, it was you!" Naturally Hermione would think that, Harry probably told him everything he and she heard that night in the Great Hall.

"Hermione please," Lupin said again.

"He's a werewolf!" Hermione said finally. Cecilia kept her gaze on Sirius who kept glancing her way as if he couldn't believe that she was standing there only three feet away from him. He hardly seemed surprised by Hermione's accusation and Cecilia was too absorbed with the fact she was staring the man she had feared for so long in the eyes to retain what everyone else was talking about. She registered Hermione's accusing voice and Lupin's soft one trying to talk her down, but the young girl kept babbling on.

Instead of focusing on the present conversation, Cecilia's brain watched her father carefully afraid that if she turned away, he would attack her like she'd expected from him all these months. What startled her more was the fact that Sirius was watching her carefully with a look of awe on his face and not one that expressed harm in anyway. Sure, he looked worn down and shaggy, but he didn't look like he was about to murder anyone, especially not her.

"YOU'VE BEEN HELPING HIM THE WHOLE TIME!" Harry shouted causing both Sirius and Cecilia to turn their attention away from each other to him.

"I have not been helping Sirius," Lupin continued, frustration clear in his voice. He then handed Hermione and Harry's wands back to them. "Now you're armed, will you listen?"

"Let him explain," Cecilia said bringing the attention to her. She walked forward forcing Sirius to back up into the room letting her through the door. She side-stepped until she was standing beside Harry and Hermione who both held their wands up. She knew she should defend herself as well but something inside of her told her not to.

"I was up in my office examining the Marauders Map," Lupin started. 'The Marauders Map must've been the magical map,' she thought thinking back to the magic parchment that brought her face to face with her father.

"You know how to work it?" Harry interrupted surprised.

"Of course, I know how to work it I wrote it! I'm Moony," Lupin quickly explained. Cecilia's mind flashed back to the names on the map. If his name was on the map, she was right, and Lupin did know who Padfoot was. He knew who her mother had been writing a letter to.

"The important thing is that I was watching it carefully," Lupin continued. "And I watched you three make you way down to Hagrid's hut like I expected. I only lifted my head for a couple minutes to talk to Miss Black when I noticed that four people had left the hut."

"Harry Potter, Hermione Granger, Ron Weasley and Peter Pettigrew," Cecilia listed from her memory. Lupin barely acknowledged her small voice and continued.

"And then a fifth person, Sirius Black, was headed your way and I saw him collide with you and drag the two of you down the Whomping Willow-"

Harry had cut him off, "did Cecilia just say Peter Pettigrew? That can't be! He killed him! Twelve years ago!" Cecilia followed Harry's finger in the direction of her father. "And there was no one else with us! Your map must be wrong!"

"The map is never wrong Harry," Lupin said eyeing Ron carefully who was still laying on the floor behind the three young children. They were acting as a barrier. "Ron, I believe you have a pet rat, is that correct?"

"What does my pet rat have to do with this?" Ron asked shakily from the ground.

"That's no rat," Sirius Black said grabbing everyone's attention. Cecilia noted his raspy voice and shaky breath. "That's Peter Pettigrew."

Harry went to say something else, but Lupin stopped him. "Let me explain please, it will all make sense if you just let me explain." They all went silent and waited for him to continue on. "It started when I became a werewolf," Lupin was interrupted by a groan from Ron but Hermione quickly hushed him and he got back to his story.

"I was a very young boy and there was no cure for it like there is now. It made going to Hogwarts very hard, but Dumbledore helped in putting the proper precautions in place for not only my safety, but for the safety of everyone at Hogwarts. The very Shrieking Shack we stand in was what I used for my transformations and that's why there's a tunnel that leads from Hogwarts to here.

"Apart from my transformations, I had the best time at Hogwarts with the very best friends, Sirius Black," Lupin said gesturing to the man standing beside him. "Peter Pettigrew and James Potter. I tried to hide my disappearance from my friends, but I could only come up with so many excuses. When they all finally found out, instead of abandoning me, they decided to become Animagi and keep me company during my transformations. It took many years but thankfully James and Sirius were the cleverest students in school.

"We even gave ourselves nicknames to go with our animals. I was Moony, because of werewolf thing, Peter was Wormtail, James was Prongs and Sirius was-"

"Padfoot," Cecilia finished for him. Sirius looked at her when she said his nickname surprised she knew it.

"Yes, Padfoot," Lupin agreed.

Harry looked at the two men in front of them and narrowed his eyes. "What does all that have to do with anything?"

Sirius sighed, "get to the point faster Remus I want to finally do something about Peter. I didn't come all this way for story time!"

Ron scooted closer so he was sitting between Harry and Hermione's legs, "what makes you think that Scabbers is Peter? How would you have even known?" Cecilia watched her father's reaction. Ron did have a point.

"I saw a picture in the Daily Prophet, that rat is missing a toe isn't it?" Sirius asked.

Everyone turned towards Scabbers and she put it together. "All they found that night was a finger." Sirius watched her carefully. He had a pained look on his face mixed with sadness. He must not have liked the fact Cecilia knew the story of that night so well, but she did. It was all she ever knew about him.

"Why would he fake his death?" Hermione asked carefully.

Sirius glared, "because I was going to kill him." Beside her, Hermione gasped, and Harry clutched his wand tighter. For the first time since she'd laid eyes on him, Sirius looked as if he was capable of committing murder. His eyes went wild. Even Lupin flinched as he spoke his mind.

"Why? Because he knew what you did?" Harry accused anger clearly evident in his voice.

"No, because of what he did! Don't you see? Peter was the one who betrayed your parents to Voldemort, Peter is the one who got them killed, he got them all killed. He was their Secret-Keeper, we had to switch it. It couldn't be me; I was too obvious; I was too compromised."

"Why were you compromised?" Harry asked, anger still in his voice but not as much as before.

Sirius sighed and looked over at Cecilia wearing the same sad look he had on moments ago. "I was still involved with Stella Malfoy, and she was a Death Eater. That's why everyone was so quick to believe it was actually me who betrayed your parents."

Cecilia felt her heart sink. Stella Malfoy, a Death Eater? She had never heard that before. It wasn't like she knew much about her mother, but she felt as that was something she should've known. Lupin's words from earlier came back into her mind. 'Your mother was in a particular position herself.' Well that was bloody downplaying it.

"It was all my fault though; we shouldn't have switched. I thought it was smart, saving Stella from the torture if Voldemort found out. The night James and Lily died; Stella finally told me she thought Peter was a spy for Voldemort. She had no idea who the Secret-Keeper was, never mind it was Peter. The minute she told me, I left to go find Peter. When I saw he wasn't in his hiding spot, I went directly to your parents' house only to find out I was too late."

Sirius hung his head as he told his version of the story. When he looked up again, he had the most pained look on his face. Cecilia met his eyes, matching the same pained look. If his story was true, then he lost everyone that night and she couldn't help but feel bad for him.

She asked Lupin once if he thought her mother and father were in love. She watched the way he talked about her mother, with pain and sadness. He tried to protect her from harm even though she was a Death Eater. He stayed with her even though she was a Death Eater. Her parents did love each other, and it seemed like they did until the end. She must not have hidden Cecilia from him because he was dangerous. There had to be another reason.

She also understood Lucius' words less. How could Sirius have gotten her mother killed if he was only trying to protect her? And how did he poison her? As much as come questions were being answered, there were so many more popping up. Cecilia tried ignoring them to hear the rest of the story but her head was swimming and she didn't know how to feel anymore. Nothing made sense.

As Cecilia grew up, she always asked about her mom and dad. When she was old enough, Lucius sat her down and gave it to her straight. Her mother was dead, and her father was in Azkaban. When she asked why he was there, Lucius told her the story everyone had heard from the night Sirius Black was arrested. Peter Pettigrew cornered Sirius Black after he'd betrayed the Potters and gave them up to Voldemort. Sirius then killed Peter Pettigrew and twelve muggles. That was all she ever knew about her father.

Now she was being told a whole other story. She was being told the truth about her father. He was a good friend, he was smart in school, he loved her mother and most importantly, he was innocent.

While Cecilia had been lost in thought, Lupin had retrieved Ron's rat from him and was preforming a spell on him. She watched as the rat slowly turned into a short man. She wasn't sure if it was a transformation gone wrong, but he resembled a rat even as a human. Peter Pettigrew.

The little man squirmed at the questions being fired his way from his two former best friends. Sirius and Lupin were both interrogating him profusely trying to get the truth from the man who committed the crime. Peter continued to pin it on Sirius trying to rebuild the story that had just been torn down in front of them only minutes ago.

Finally, Sirius had reached a breaking point and started yelling. "Lily and James only made you Secret-Keeper because I suggested it! I thought it was the better plan since Voldemort was sure to come after me! Then Stella told me, and I-I couldn't believe it, but she was more trustworthy than you ever were! I would've DIED before giving up Lily and James. DIED!"

Peter was practically crying in the corner where Sirius and Lupin had cornered him. Cecilia, for the first time, turned to Harry to see his expression. He seemed confused, but also looked as if he believed Sirius and Lupin just as she did. He noticed her watching him and turned to her. "I sorry Cecilia," he whispered so only she could hear. She smiled at him in response to tell him she forgave him. They were all wrong about everything and when it came to their parents, it seemed they both had been left out of the dark for so long. It was just a relief to finally have the truth.

"We have to clear your name!" Cecilia said softly. She watched as the three men turned her gaze to her. Lupin nodded, agreeing with her. "If you're really innocent, we need to tell everyone," she added.

Lupin and Sirius picked Peter up as he tried to bargain for his life. "I didn't mean to; I had no choice. He would've killed me!"

Sirius grabbed Peter each by a shoulder angrily jolting the little man harshly. "YOU SHOULD HAVE DIED, RATHER THAN BETRAY YOUR FRIENDS!"

"You should've realised that if Voldemort didn't kill you, we would." Lupin raised his wand and Sirius joined him.

"NO," Harry yelled. "If you kill him, no one will be able to clear Sirius' name. He deserves to rot in Azkaban."

Lupin and Sirius paused and looked at one another, silently agreeing with Harry and that was it.

They chained Peter up helped him into position to take him back to the castle. Hermione and Harry both helped Ron up and followed. Cecilia was last, she followed behind the party on their journey back to the castle.


	5. The Aftermath

As they started walking back to the castle, Cecilia could feel her head starting to spin, shocked from all the new information she had just received.

Her father was innocent, he had been wrongfully imprisoned for twelve years accused of something he hadn't done, her mother had been a Death Eater, the list went on. She felt as if her entire life was based on a pile of lies and as a new one came to light, the foundation she was raised on cracked just a little bit more.

She also had new questions that replaced the old ones. Why was Sirius still involved with Stella if she was a Death Eater? Why did Lucius think Sirius killed her mother? Why didn't Sirius know about her earlier? Cecilia was desperate for answers thinking it would maybe give her sense of stability.

Back in the classroom, Cecilia remembered that Lupin hinted at the fact Sirius was the only one who could answer her questions and thankfully, he was only a couple steps ahead talking quietly with Harry. She quickened her pace trying to catch up with them hoping to unload all her inquiries on him in return for answers.

"Your parents made me your godfather," she heard Sirius say to Harry once she got close enough to the pair. "Meaning if anything happened to them, you'd come stay with me. Now I understand if you don't want to-"

"Of course, I'd love to, anything is better than the Dursleys," Harry answered back. His voice was filled with what sounded like relief and Cecilia couldn't blame him.

She made her way beside Sirius and he looked over and smiled at her, "we can be a family. The three of us." He put his arm around her shoulder and pulled her in closer for a hug. Cecilia's chest felt as if it were going to burst with happiness. She didn't know she could be so excited for something she didn't even know she wanted till now. Still, a part of her brain was full of nagging questions she wanted answered.

"Um, dad," she said testing the word out on her tongue. The look on Sirius' face told her it was okay and to keep going. "I have a question. Or a few questions actually I was hoping you could answer."

"Anything," he answered eager to help.

"Why did my mum keep me hidden from you? It's one question that's been bothering me and no one seems to have the answer."

Sirius looked at her for a second and then sighed. "I wish I knew but I don't have an answer for you yet. There's so much you need to know about your mother."

"Will you tell me?" She asked, excitement bubbled in her stomach. She finally had her father and now she was going to learn more about her mother.

"Anything you want to know," Sirius said.

Cecilia smiled at Sirius and then she turned her gaze towards Harry who was also smiling. 'We can be a family,' Sirius' words floated in her mind. Now when she thought of family, she could think of herself with her father.

"I know you've been staying with the Malfoys," Sirius started again. "And I'm sure it's been luxurious-"

Cecilia cut him off, "I can't wait to get out of there."

Sirius laughed. "Yes, well I never thought Lucius to be a good father."

"You should see his son, Draco," Harry said rolling his eyes. Cecilia glared slightly but couldn't help but agree.

They kept walking until they saw the opening to the Hogwarts grounds. The sunlight from earlier had disappeared and was replace with an eerie darkness. Cecilia had never been out of the castle after dark, mostly because it was against the rules. Now she knew why, the night held a certain amount of creepiness and the full moon high in the sky made it worse.

Lupin was slightly ahead still pointing his wand at Peter keeping him close so he wouldn't get away when suddenly, Lupin looked up at the full moon and stopped in his tracts. What Hermione said earlier in the night sunk in. 'He's a werewolf!' her words echoed in her head. Sirius must've noticed it too because he threw his arms out stopping Cecilia and Harry from taking another step. Harry reached out to Hermione to stop her as well as Ron still limping in the middle of them.

In front of them, Lupin's body had gone rigid and he was staring up at the sky. "Run," Sirius whispered, "run now." Harry looked at Ron beside him who was putting all his weight on Harry and Hermione. "NOW!" Sirius said again shoving the kids to the side hoping they would leave immediately.

"Remus my friend, this isn't you. Remember who you are," Sirius was now approaching Lupin who had gone slacked face and was trembling. Hair was starting to grow in places it didn't usually grow and a howl left their professor's mouth.

Cecilia was shoving Harry along who looked like he was about run back into danger. It wouldn't be uncharacteristic for him to do so. When she turned back around, she was greeted by a werewolf and a huge black dog. The same one she'd seen a couple times before. Sirius.

Hermione's scream tore her gaze away from Sirius and was pointing at Peter who had been released from Lupin's grip and was now diving for his wand. Harry quickly pulled out his own wand and pointed it towards Peter, but it was too late. Peter's body was shrinking, and his face was growing whiskers

"No, he's getting away!" Cecilia said leaving Harry's side trying to grab Peter. As she lunged forward, Sirius turned around and growled at her to get back. Cecilia stepped back at her father's reaction. While he was looking away, Lupin lunged towards Sirius attacking him.

"Sirius," Harry yelled towards the two animals who were making their way towards the forest. Harry started to run after them and Cecilia followed closely behind. They pushed their ways through the trees towards the sound of Sirius screaming in pain and Lupin howling.

When the screaming stopped, Harry and Cecilia found Sirius hunched over by the lake. She ran towards her father dropping down beside him. "Dad, are you okay?"

"Stella," he whispered barely looking at her.

"No, it's Cecilia, your daughter." Sirius narrowed his eyes and then dropped down on his back.

Harry was looking up at the at the sky. "Quick Cecilia, think of something happy!" Cecilia looked up at the sky and that's when she saw them. Dementors, hundreds of them heading their way. She looked at Harry who was pulling out his wand. 'Something happy,' Cecilia thought to herself.

She closed her eyes and tried to think of something happy. She thought of winning a Quidditch game. She thought of the first time she learned how to fly a broomstick with Draco. She thought of Sirius being free and living with him and Harry.

As she was thinking all of these things, Harry was shouting a spell while pointing his wand at the sky. A blue light was coming out of it, but it wasn't enough, the Dementors were closing in. Cecilia started to feel lightheaded and flopped onto her back beside her father. Her body went cold and she felt her eyes start to close. Finally, her body and mind gave out and she passed out.

.....

When Cecilia awoke, she was no longer beside her father by the lake, but was laying in the hospital wing at Hogwarts. When she tried to move, her body was stiff. She tried to muster up all her energy to sit up, but she failed at first, too weak. When she tried again, she managed to prop herself up on her elbows and look around the room. Next to her, Harry was unconscious and beside him Ron was in the same state. She pushed herself up further only to be greeted by Hermione who was sitting in between Harry and Ron.

"Cecilia, I'm so sorry," she whispered. "They got Black; they're going to give him the Dementor's kiss any minute now."

Her stomach dropped so low in her stomach, she suddenly felt as if she could throw up. She wasn't even sure what the Dementor's kiss did but whatever it was, it wasn't good, and Sirius was about to get it. She used all her energy and forced her body out of her bed. "Where are you going?" she heard Hermione say.

"For a walk," she muttered before pushing the doors open and leaving the hospital wing.

She let her weak body take her outside where she could find some fresh air. She felt like collapsing on the ground, so she searched for a bench just outside. She quickly sat down and put her head in her hands. Sirius was caught and Peter was gone. The only chance they had to free Sirius was now gone.

Suddenly, the tears she didn't know she was holding back started to flow down her face. Her sore body shook with each sob as she tried gasping for breath. She had it all, for only a moment, she had everything she ever wanted. Her real family.

It surprised Cecilia how much her thinking had changed after the last hour. If you would've told her that by nightfall, she'd be prepared to move in with her father she'd have laughed. Yet there she sat mourning all the unspoken plans she had made with her father knowing that they were never to come true due to the circumstances. And now she wasn't going to get the chance to see him again, to get to know him, to get to know her mother.

She stayed on the bench for a while too weak to move anymore when a sound from above caught her attention. Cecilia looked up to see the Hippogriff she swore her uncle had gotten executed. On its back was Harry, Hermione and Sirius. They soared down right in front of her and she jumped up to greet them. She was confused as to how Hermione and Harry were there since they had just been in the hospital wing minutes ago, but she couldn't care anymore the minute the touched down and she saw her father once more. Something she was convinced she wouldn't get to do.

"You're okay," she cried standing from the bench and wrapping Sirius in a hug the minute he climbed off the animals back. He hugged her back tightly before pulling away.

"Cecilia, I have to go," he whispered quietly. He didn't say it, but she knew what he meant. He was still a wanted man and he had to hide.

"I just got you back, you can't, I-"

"You remind me so much of your mother," he interrupted.

"I don't even know what she was like though."

"Trust me, one day I'll tell you all about her and we'll be a family." Cecilia nodded not fully believing him but still hugging him and hoping he was right. When he let go, he looked at both Harry and her when said his next words. "Stick together you two, we'll be a family someday." Finally, he climbed on the back of Buckbeak and flew off.

The three kids watched him fly off before Hermione grabbed Harry's hand and pulled him away. "Where are you going?" she called out at the two of them as they disappeared down the hall back towards the Hospital wing.

Cecilia considered going after them but her body was drained. The burst of energy her father brought was gone and she really just needed to get some sleep after the nights numerous activities. She started her slow journey down to the dungeons. Her body was moving slow as she took in the castle at night.

No part of her was worried about being caught lurking about, she was too distracted with having just met her father and then losing him again. She trudged through the castle before she heard voices coming from down the next hall.

Cecilia poked her head around the hall and saw the Weasley twins looking as if they were up to no good. "What are you two doing?" Cecilia called out to them causing both of them to jump at their voice.

"Merlin Black you scared me," one of them called out. She started to make her way towards them to see what they were up to. As she got closer, she saw what looked like an elaborate prank.

"What's that?" she asked.

"End of the year prank," George said barely looking at her. Fred on the other hand didn't take his eyes of her.

"What on earth are you doing out of bed at this hour?" He asked with a smirk on his face. She noticed this was the first time he had spoken to her since the Quidditch accident and she was almost grateful for it. That had surprised her.

Cecilia rolled her eyes and leaned against the wall watching George continue to set up the prank. "Would you believe me if I said I was running around with a convicted murderer?" she said falling back into their sarcastic bickering nature.

George stopped working and looked up at her with a shocked look on his face. Fred only laughed, "so you met your father Black."

She only smiled back up at him, "yeah, better not mess with me or I'll send him after you." She winked at Fred repeating the same phrase he used early in the year. He smiled some more obviously recognizing the line that had pissed her off early in the year. He wasn't sure where this Cecilia came from, but he liked it. She wasn't her usual self, and she knew it was because she was drained and couldn't make herself care anymore.

"Well, I'm going to bed, have fun with this," she said waving her hand towards their work.

"You won't tattle on us will you Black?" Fred asked following her a few steps down the hall.

Cecilia threw a look over her smile and winked, "never."

She made it down the hall and turned the corner quickly. She felt a wave of exhaustion again and leant up against the wall for support while she regained her energy. While she did, she could her the twin's conversation that echoed in the empty corridor.

"What's your deal with her?" one of them asked. She figured it was George given the answer that came.

"She's so bloody intriguing Georgie, it drives me nuts," Fred answered. Cecilia smirked; she always thought she had an effect on him though it was confirmed by that one sentence.

George scoffed at his brothers answer and spoke again to warn him. "Be careful Freddie."

Cecilia couldn't help but agree with George. She pushed Fred's words to the back of her mind and continued her journey to her bed.

On the way down, she thought back to the night's activities. She couldn't get over the fact she had been raised on a lie. She knew that it wasn't the Malfoys fault, they didn't know Sirius was innocent but everything else was. She also thought about the fact her mother had been a Death Eater. She raked her brain trying to think of everything the Malfoys had ever told her about Stella and realized she knew only a handful of things.

She knew Stella went to Hogwarts and was in the Slytherin house just as she was. She knew that Stella had gotten pregnant by Sirius shortly after they graduated, and she knew that her mother was a force to be reckoned with, but she didn't know her. Not one bit.

Again, she reflected on Lupin's word about how no one really knew my mother except Sirius and wondered if they didn't tell her more because they didn't know more.

Thoughts of her parents bounced around in her brain until her body finally begged for sleep and she let her eyes close and she slipped out of consciousness.

.....

The next day when Cecilia woke up, she had a pounding headache and her body was still sore from the events from the night before. She took a moment to lay in her bed oblivious for only a second before it all came crashing back like a harsh wave.

She'd met her father and he was innocent. She'd finally gotten a fraction of her family and now he was gone. At least he was safe from the Dementors and he was out of Azkaban. But he still wasn't free. And they weren't going to be a family like he said.

It was another twenty minutes before she even bothered rolling out of bed. When she did, she slowly made her way down to the Great Hall looking for some food. On the way down she was stopped by a crowd of people hovering in the same spot she caught the twins at last night. Their prank must be in action.

Cecilia would've normally stopped and watched but her stomach was growling. She needed to get some energy back.

"I'm a little offending you're not staying for the show. Am I not even worth a minute of your time?" she looked up at the body that was blocking her and rolled her eyes.

"Sorry Weasley but I'm hungry, can you move?"

Fred stood in front of her silently just observing for a few seconds before smirking. She hated it when he smirked. "Of course, Miss Black. See you next year."

With all the action that had happened in the last 24 hours, Cecilia had completely forgotten that tomorrow they would board the Hogwarts Express and return home. Disappointment overtook her again when she realized she had to go back to the Malfoys and act as if nothing had happened.

But everything happened and she didn't want to go back.

For Sirius' safety, she knew that she couldn't tell them anything, no matter how much she desperately wanted to. She would just have to endure another summer with Lucius hating her, Narcissa worrying and Draco.

At least Draco would return back to the pleasant cousin he was at home and not the cold-hearted prat from school. She thought about maybe telling him, but she didn't know how he would react, and she didn't want to find out.

At breakfast, the entire Slytherin table was gossiping. She assumed it was about Sirius until she listened in to what they were saying. "Snape said he was a werewolf. It's a shame, he was my favorite Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher!"

Cecilia froze with her fork halfway to her mouth. They were obviously talking about Lupin, but she couldn't figure out why Snape would tell them that. Of course she had found out about it because of last night but she didn't know why Snape told everyone. She finished her breakfast quickly and shot up from the Slytherin table. She wanted to talk to Lupin before he left about last night while she could.

She rushed up the stairs to his classroom but paused when she saw Harry approaching from the other way. When they met in front of the room, Harry spoke first. "Are you okay?" he asked reaching up to rub the back of his next. She knew this was awkward for him given their history of conversation, but she appreciated him trying.

"No," she answered truthfully. "Are you?"

Harry shook his head. "Came to talk to Lupin 'bout it. I reckon you had the same thought?" Cecilia nodded in agreement and they both turned to push open Lupin's door and greet him. The room felt empty with all of Lupin's possessions packed away and Cecilia assumed it had something to do with the fact the school now knew about his condition.

Lupin smiled before looking up from his desk, "I saw you two coming." Cecilia smiled recognizing the parchment that was sprawled open on his desk. It was the Marauder's Map. The map he, her father and Harry's father all made together. Cecilia looked down to see that Lupin, Potter and Black were all standing close on the map. She wondered if it was nostalgic for Lupin to see the three names together again.

Harry broke the silence first, "is it true you resigned?" he blurted out. Lupin nodded and Harry spoke again. "But you're the best Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher we've ever had!" Cecilia stood next to him agreeing, she didn't want to see him go. Lupin was shaking his head silently though he had a smile on his face.

When he spoke again, it wasn't about his resignation but the night before. "I heard you managed to save a lot of lives last night. Tell me about your Patronus." Harry went on explaining what had happened down by the lake last night and Cecilia listening carefully too given the fact she wasn't sure what happened herself. When Harry finished, Lupin was beaming. "A stag, just like your father. It's what he transformed into, that's why we called him Prongs." Cecilia thought of Padfoot and the black dog Sirius turned into.

Lupin went back to packing as Harry and Cecilia exchanged a glance. Neither of them wanted him to go but deep down, she knew he couldn't stay now that the students knew what he was. He rummaged through his desk pulling out a cloak and handing it to Harry. "Brought this back from the Shrieking Shack." Harry reached out and took it. Then Lupin folded up the Marauder's Map handing it to Cecilia.

"Share this, it's both your father's legacies. I dare say they would be extremely disappointed if you didn't use it. It came in handy to them so many years before." Cecilia and Harry both smiled. She no longer felt ashamed of who her father was like she did months ago, but rather proud. To everyone else he was still Sirius Black, mass murderer who escaped form Azkaban but to the people in the room he was Sirius Black, a best friend, a godfather and a father.

Dumbledore interrupted them explaining that it was time for Professor Lupin to leave and he grabbed his things and looked back at the two children. "It has been a pleasure teaching the both of you. You both remind be so much of your parents." Both Harry and Cecilia beamed at that and then she realized she didn't know which parent he was talking about when he said this. Lupin smiled at both of them and walked out the door. Just before he left, he turned back to say one last thing. "Stick together you two, it's what they both would've wanted." With that, Professor Lupin left Harry and Cecilia.

They stood frozen for a moment before Harry turned to her. "I'm sorry about earlier this year Cecilia, I was out of place-"

She cut him off. "You weren't. I understood where you came from, I thought the same things you did. I'm just glad we both know the truth now."

Harry nodded agreeing and they started making their way out of the classroom. "I guess this means you have to go to the Malfoys huh?"

"And you the Dursleys," she added to their misery.

"Yeah, I was kind of banking of Sirius' word about moving out and becoming a family," Harry said sticking his hands in his pockets. He looked almost embarrassed to say it, but Cecilia was thinking the exact same thing.

She stopped walking facing Harry, "one day, this isn't over yet. Until then, we'll just have to stick together."

They both smiled at one another awkwardly, but there was a mutual understanding between them now. Cecilia now considered him a friend after what they just went through. She knew they now shared a parental guardian, even if he was on the run, and it made her feel closer to him.

"Here," she said handing him the map. "If I need it I'll come looking for it but you seem like you need it more between the both of us." Harry smiled and grabbed the map bidding Cecilia goodbye.

When they parted, Cecilia rushed to her room to pack for tomorrows journey. She glanced at the Firebolt that was laying across her dresser and smiled, at least she still had something from her father. She wasn't sure if she was going to be able to contact him wherever he was, and it bothered her, but she trusted him and his judgement. At least he was safe.

.....

The next morning, Cecilia was awoken by the chaos that followed the end of the year. The girls in her dorm were doing some last-minute packing and Cecilia found it impossible to sleep with all the noise going on around her.

She was dreading going back to the Malfoys after what happened at Christmas and with everything that was going on. She was certain that wherever Sirius was hiding out was better than a summer at the Malfoys. It didn't matter though; she didn't have a choice.

She met Draco in the common room just before they got on the carriages towards the train. Draco sensed her nervousness and spoke quietly. "Don't worry about him Cece." She knew he was talking about Lucius and she appreciated his attempt to comfort her, but it was no use.

Once they were on the train, Cecilia found an empty compartment and settled in for the long ride home. She liked being alone, it gave her more time to think. She was replaying the memory of meeting Sirius again for the third time when Harry approached the compartment and let himself in. He carried a couple pieces of parchment in his hand and handed Cecilia a piece herself. He then sat across from her reading over his own letter.

She opened the parchment carefully and saw that it was from Sirius. She looked up at Harry who was still reading his own note and dove into hers.

_Dear Cecilia,_

_I must admit I'm still in shock after meeting you for the first time the other day. I didn't express it then, but I must say now, meeting you has been the best thing to happen to me in a long time. I wish we'd had the chance to do so before, but I understand why your mother didn't tell me, she wanted to keep you safe._

_I remember you saying that night that everyone always compared you to your mother and you couldn't understand why so let me say this. Your mother was amazing Cecilia. She never failed to amaze me. She was so strong in her own way that she often kept to herself. She never failed to surprise me time and time again. When others say you remind them of her, it's your strength, your loyalty and your courage. I am aware that these aren't necessarily a Slytherin's traits but you both possessed them. When people say you both are alike, it's not just the fact that if you looked in a mirror, it's her staring back._

_It hurts me to say that I cannot tell you where I am and I'm going to ask you to respect this. It's for your own safety. This being said if you ever need me, I am here for you. I want to be as much of a father to you as I can under these circumstances._

_I didn't get to tell you this last night Cecilia, but I am incredibly proud of you. I am amazed that you are my daughter in the best way. I must add you're quite the Quidditch player as well. I may have snuck out to watch a game or two. I am pleased the Firebolt is doing you well, I hoped you'd like it. It's my way of making up the last fifteen years of missed birthdays and Christmas', I hope you don't mind._

_This isn't how I wanted us to become a family Cecilia, but this isn't the end of it. We will be a family someday and I'll tell you all about your mother and I'll do everything I can to make up this lost time._

_I love you my darling daughter, I'm so blessed to have you. Until we meet again._

_Sirius_

Cecilia could feel the tears running down her cheeks once she reached the bottom of the letter. She could feel Harry watching her carefully, but she said nothing only rereading the letter once again. Sirius' words tugged at her heart and she wanted nothing more than to have a proper father. She hardly thought of Lucius' as one, she barely registered him as her uncle. The fact Sirius wanted to do anything he could to be one made her cry.

Harry moved to sit next to her and grabbed her hand in comfort. She rested her head on his shoulder and cried. Cecilia trusted him, she knew he was feeling the same thing she was in that moment and she felt so much closer to him in that moment. They stayed like that for a bit before he left to find his friends and she opened her letter and reread it all again.

The words that jumped out at her were _I'm incredibly proud of you_. She didn't know how much she needed to hear that from someone until now. The worry of going back to the Malfoys was still there, but she felt comfort in knowing Sirius was only an owl away.

The Hogwarts Express reached King's Cross station at nightfall and she got off the train slowly. She followed Draco to where Lucius and Narcissa were awaiting their arrival. Lucius ignored Cecilia as she approached, but Narcissa reached out and hugged her.

"I've missed you both," she said wrapping a quick hug around Draco before they crossed the barrier to the Muggle side of the train station.

Once they were on the other side, Cecilia got a glimpse of Harry talking with his own aunt and uncle. She overheard their conversation.

"It's from my godfather, he's a convicted murderer who's broken out of wizard prison."

Cecilia snorted in laughter and Harry caught her eye smiling back. He waved before leaving with his relatives. Draco noticed the interaction and eyed her weirdly. She waved her hand trying to brush it off.

As Cecilia followed her aunt and uncle out into the London streets, she thought back to her awful year at Hogwarts and how she wasn't expecting it to end like that. She was surprised something good actually came out of her fourth year though she wasn't sure she'd be able to deal with another event like that in her fifth year.

She had two months to worry about that though.

"By the way," Lucius said once they arrived back at the manor. "I was gifted four tickets to the Quidditch World Cup in August. Minister's box, best seats there is." His voice held no emotion but the news was incredible.

Cecilia tried to hide her smile, but she couldn't help it. She was excited for something again and her excitement often was paired with hope that everything was going to be okay. She excused herself immediately practically running to her room to start on a letter to Sirius.

She assured him she was going to be okay and held him to his word.

_We'll be a family someday._


	6. The Quidditch World Cup

The first month of summer ‘94 passed by exceptionally slow given the fact the only thing Cecilia was remotely excited about wasn’t going to happen until mid August which was still two weeks away. The Quidditch World Cup. It was being held in England that year and thankfully Lucius had been offered tickets for the family to sit in the very special Minister’s box.

Until then, Cecilia spent her summer writing letters back and forth with her father. The letters however never held great detail due to Sirius still being on the run. They both decided that putting anything too personal in the letters would give him away and would put him in danger, so they stuck to the basics. They were both fine, they both missed each other and they both wished it hadn’t turned out like this but were grateful that they could at least write to one another.

Whenever Cecilia started a letter, she always started with _Dear Padfoot_ which made her feel strangely connected to her mother knowing she wrote those same words once before. She wrote them when she tried to tell Sirius about her. He never got the letter though. Cecilia wondered why her mother never sent it. She tucked that question back in her brain with the rest of her unanswered questions about her mother and kept going. No bother worrying about them too often, especially since she knew most of them didn’t have an answer and would only disappoint her more.

It felt weird writing to Sirius without being able to address him as her father, but she knew it was for his own safety. It was best that nobody knew she knew Sirius because they could easily exploit her to find out his location. Still, Cecilia tried not to complain because at least she could talk to him now, something she couldn’t do before.

Cecilia would write about the most random things and often raved about how excited she was for the Quidditch World Cup and each time Sirius wrote back explaining she would have to write him after giving him a play by play of the match. She’d recently discovered her love for Quidditch came from him. After always being compared to her mother, Cecilia was glad to know she still got some of her traits from her father. Even if it was as little as having Quidditch in common.

She couldn’t tell anyone she was okay with being compared to her father because everyone still thought Sirius Black was guilty as could be and that Cecilia was afraid of him just as she had been before she found out the truth. It frustrated her most days when Lucius or Draco would throw a comment out about how the Ministry ought to find him and lock him up quickly. They usually took Cecilia’s silence as embarrassment to be related to him or freight that he would come after her. Narcissa on the other hand was always silent about the subject and Cecilia wondered if it was because Sirius was her cousin, or she had somehow found out her secret. The latter is less likely, but it still passed through her mind from time to time. If anyone was to figure it out, it would’ve been Narcissa. She was the only one who paid close enough attention to notice a detail like that.

Draco was uncharacteristically nice to her that summer as well. She wondered if it was pity after her extremely tough year or if he was finally becoming a decent human being. Just like before, the latter seemed less likely, but Cecilia still hoped.

Lucius on the other hand was even more nasty than the summers before and Cecilia knew he was still angry about Christmas. She always knew Lucius saw her as more of a guest in the house than family, but it wasn’t shown as much as it was this summer.

Lucius spent most of the time ignoring Cecilia’s presence or pretending she didn’t exist. It didn’t bother her really because that way she could get away with a lot more things than if he was paying attention to her. The biggest was sending out all her letters. She knew no one would believe that Cecilia had suddenly made enough friends to have a steady stream of letters being delivered to her that summer, least of all Draco.

Draco did notice sometimes and at first, he didn’t ask. She wondered if he was just glad she was communicating with someone outside of him and that she actually had a friend. She knew he would explode if he found out who the letters were actually going to, and that thought often brought a smile to Cecilia’s face.

Between the tolerance of her cousin and letters to her father, her summer wasn’t as horrible as she expected it to be and before she knew it, August had arrived, and Cecilia was practically bouncing off the walls in excitement for the upcoming Quidditch game.

“Bugger off Cecilia,” Draco said one afternoon when she barged into his room demanding they play a quick game of Quidditch one on one to get some practice as well as into the spirit. “I’ve got more important things to do.”

She scoffed and rolled her eyes plopping onto Draco’s bed and whinging. “Draco please, I’m so bored. We need to practice if we’re going to win the house cup this year!”

“Get off my bed,” Draco answered shoving her off the bed forcing her to floor where she peered up at him batting her eyes in persuasion. “No!” Draco said again. Cecilia huffed and rolled her eyes. She knew Draco wanted some privacy, but she was in a mood and she wasn’t going to give him what he wanted. Instead, she walked over to his window and looked out at the landscape surrounding their house.

To say the land Malfoy Manor was built on was huge is an understatement. Not only could it fit a small village, but it was surrounded with thick trees giving them the privacy they needed. Cecilia thought back to last summer when she spotted a black dog in the tree line. Now she knew it was her father and she would do anything to have him back here watching over her like he did a year before.

“Cecilia if you don’t get the fuck out of my room,” Draco started throwing a book towards the window hoping to scare her off.

“Draco I’m so bored though,” she whinged again. He only shot her a glare that sent her sulking out of the room.

When Cecilia finally left Draco’s room, she decided to wander around to pass the time. She ended up walking down the hall which held all the family portraits. Cecilia soon found herself standing in front of her favorite one. Her mothers. Stella Malfoy’s portrait wasn’t like the others though. All the other Malfoys had a firm scowl on their face or even a harden neutral face, but Stella had her lips turned up at the corners and she had a wicked glint in her eye.

Cecilia took a quick look side to side ensuring she was alone and then she whispered out, “hey mum.” She would sometimes talk to her mother out of loneliness and sometimes she did it just so she could feel closer to her. Today, it was a bit of both. “I've been talking to dad, he’s great! I can see why you loved him,” she whispered out hoping no one could hear her. “Everything’s a disaster mum, I wish you were here to make it better. I’ll try my best to make you proud, I love you.” Cecilia felt slightly silly for talking to a painting, but she couldn’t help it. It was the best she had to remember Stella.

After she was finished talking to her mum, she continued to make her way down the hall opposite of the bedrooms. Cecilia knew that Lucius’ study was down this way and he would bite off her head if he found her wandering the halls around it, but Cecilia was bored. Bored and curious. It was a dangerous combination.

She walked quietly hoping not to draw attention to herself as she made her way down. The door to Lucius’ study was slightly ajar and Lucius was inside. Cecilia pressed herself against the wall turning her ear towards the open door hoping she could hear what he was up to in there.

Lucius had been acting slightly more uptight than usual this summer which had been unbearable, but she didn’t think twice about it. It was Lucius Malfoy after all, he wasn’t a pleasant person in the first place. In this moment however, her mind was wandering with different possibilities as to why he was acting this way and she wondered if she could figure it out by listening in to whatever he was doing in there.

A firm voice trickled out into the hall where Cecilia was standing and she concentrated hard trying to make out words. She wasn’t extremely successful since Lucius was speaking in a harsh whisper, but she could pick out some words in particular that where repeated often. Quidditch World Cup, reunion and after dark. She wasn’t sure what kind of reunion Lucius could be talking about, but she tried not to dwell too much on it while she was sneaking around. Instead, she turned her feet and quietly made her way back to her room to so she could let her thoughts run wild in peace.

Once she was a safe distance away, she let her mind wander to see what it could come up with about Lucius. Whatever he was talking about or planning was going to happen at the Quidditch World Cup, Cecilia could safely assume that given the information she overheard. She also knew that it would happen after dark there. Again, that part was clear. The thing she was stuck on however was the reunion part.

Cecilia thought of a family reunion as she walked down the portrait hall once again. The problem was Lucius was the only living Malfoy left that she could think of, apart from his wife and son of course but there was no need to reunite with them. Then Cecilia thought of the Black family but that also seemed impossible given the fact one of Narcissa’s sisters was in Azkaban and the other was seemingly disowned. Other than Narcissa, Sirius was the only Black alive and he was on the run.

‘It could be him,’ she thought again. But the letters from Sirius suggested that he would be nowhere near the Quidditch Cup and it made sense why. Too many people would be attending the event and it was far too risky to be anywhere in the vicinity. On top of that, Lucius wasn’t aware that Cecilia had met her father and she was sure if he did find out, he wouldn’t be planning a reunion for them but a funeral. Which of them he would kill? Cecilia wasn’t sure, but he would defiantly kill one if not both of them if he found out.

Cecilia convinced herself she had heard wrong, but a nagging feeling in her stomach told her she didn’t. Finally, she settled on a work reunion, maybe an after party that Lucius was planning. That made some sense. If Lucius had friends from the Ministry there, maybe he just wanted them to get together and have some drinks. The thought made sense, so Cecilia settled on it.

When she finally reached her room, Draco was there laying across her bed just as she was doing to him an hour before. “What are you doing here?” she asked narrowing her eyes.

“Well, I’m bored now too, so I thought I’d take a page from your book and come annoy my darling cousin.” Cecilia rolled her eyes but appreciated the company.

She flicked Draco in the ear as she passed and sat in her desk chair facing him. Cecilia caught Sirius’ last letter open on the desk and it reminded her she still had to respond. She pulled out a fresh piece of parchment and grabbed her quill starting to write. Draco’s curiosity finally got the best of him and he turned to face Cecilia asking the question she had been expecting all summer:

“Who are you writing to?”

She was ready for this question. “Someone from Hogwarts.” Not too specific, not too unbelievable.

Draco smirked suddenly and Cecilia didn’t like the glint in his eye. “Got yourself a boyfriend Cece?” Draco teased.

Cecilia tried to laugh it off as best she could. “Oh, c’mon Draco, who on earth would I be dating?”

She watched him carefully as he reached his hand out for the letter. She snatched it from his reach quickly and he laughed. He grabbed her new Defence Against the Dark Arts book instead form the desk and flipped it open, resettling on her bed.

“Wouldn’t hurt you to have a little fun this year Cecilia. Lord knows your uptight arse needs it.”

She narrowed her eyes at her cousin slightly offended. She then realized what he meant. “Fun? Draco you don’t mean-”

“Ew, no, ew, god Cecilia that’s not what I meant.”

It was her turn to smirk and she whispered back, “well if you say so cousin. Guess I’ll try and find someone to shag this year.”

Draco shot up from the bed immediately, dropping the book as he did so. “Cecilia, Christ, what is wrong with you?” Cecilia was too busy laughing to properly acknowledge the look of utter disgust that was etched on Draco’s face.

“You started it!” she called after him as he quickly made a beeline for the door hoping to avoid any more talk of the subject.

When she finally stopped giggling, she realized that Draco wasn’t wrong. After last year, Cecilia deserved some fun or at least a year where she didn’t walk around with a never-ending feeling of loneliness.

She knew at the end of last year, her and Harry sort of became allies thanks to Sirius so at least she’d have a friend at school, but she knew Draco meant something else.

‘Have some fun, you need it.’

Not a bad idea Draco, not a bad idea at all.

…..

When the big day finally arrived, Cecilia was so full of energy and excitement that Lucius threatened to leave her at the manor if she didn’t clam down. It wasn’t like she could help it; it wasn’t often that Cecilia got excited over something in her life.

Draco kept sending her glares every time Lucius scoffed at her behavior. “Calm down Cecilia,” Draco hissed quietly. Cecilia only smiled back at him in mocking sense. Draco was excited too; she could tell even though he was acting very calm. He was even wearing his Slytherin scarf, green and silver just like the Irish team. Cecilia was also decked out in her Slytherin colours to a certain amount. Too much spirit would only piss Lucius off more.

Lucius led his family out of the manor onto the lawn where there was a man waiting for them. “Mr Malfoy, here is your portkey, it will go off in exactly ten minutes.” The short man handed Lucius a pocket watch and then disapparated from the premise.

The next ten minutes passed extremely slow. Cecilia watched as each member of the family got prepared for the public outing. She knew the Malfoys had an image to keep up even if Cecilia didn’t bother to really do her part in maintaining it. The half of her that was Malfoy was all Stella. That's what Narcissa used to tell her though she wasn't sure exactly what she meant by it.

“Grab on,” Lucius broke the silence a minute before the portkey was to transport them to the Quidditch Cup. Cecilia grabbed onto Narcissa as well as the pocket watch and prepared herself for the transportation. Cecilia had used a portkey at Christmas when Lucius sent her back to Hogwarts after their fight, so it wasn’t a new experience for her. It wasn’t a pleasant feeling either way.

Suddenly, the air around them changed and Cecilia closed her eyes as she felt her body being lifted off of the ground. She noticed Narcissa’s grip on her growing tighter as if Cecilia would suddenly slip from her at any moment. A minute later, all four of them landed gracefully on their feet.

Cecilia took a moment to take in her new surroundings. There were wizards everywhere all arriving by portkeys. There was a certain energy in the air that made Cecilia feel all giddy. She would describe it as magic, but it wasn’t that. It was so much more.

Lucius led them to a small box and inside was man who looked quite overwhelmed with all the activity going on. “Muggle,” Draco scoffed once they were close enough. She knew she should dislike him for being a Muggle, but she didn’t. Cecilia felt bad for the man. Wizards were a lot to deal with, overexcited wizards were worse.

Once they were told their location of the campsite, Lucius and Narcissa led the two kids through the dense crowd trying to make their way past the bunch of groups gathered around. When they got there, Cecilia was amazed at how the Malfoy tent almost looked glamorous compared to the ones surrounding it. The inside was even better.

From the outside, the tent was a reasonable size. Sure, it looked more polished than the others, but it was still just a tent. The inside was huge, not Malfoy Manor big but it could easily compare. Cecilia noticed a sitting area right off the entry way and a kitchen just off of that. There was a dining room, three bedrooms, and a bathroom.

“C’mon, let’s get a move on it,” Lucius commanded a half hour later. Cecilia watched as her aunt started to get in her role as the perfect wife, inside and out. Draco straightened his tie and fixed his hair trying to look proper. She rolled her eyes at this behaviour, but she was used to it at the same time.

The Malfoys left their tent and shoved their way through the crowd to get to the stadium. Most wizards who actually paid attention to the family, moved out of their way. It wasn’t out of respect, more like fear. Nobody wanted to cross paths with Lucius Malfoy, especially not today. They all wanted to maintain their happy moods and Lucius had the power to squash any happiness he came across.

When the stadium came into view, Cecilia audibly gasped. To her right, Draco smirked at his cousin’s reaction. It was huge. She knew it needed to be to hold all the wizards who were attending. It was amazing and Cecilia felt her excitement skyrocket once more. She wasn't aware she could feel more excited than she already was.

She tried to soak up as much as she could knowing she’d have to write it all down for Sirius later. The tall stadium, the wizards chattering about wearing different team colours, the buzzing in the air. She wasn’t sure how she was going to be able to put this feeling into words later, it was all so much.

Once they entered the stadium, they were faced with numerous flights of stairs, each one leading to a different level of the stadium. “This Minister’s box is near the top,” Lucius said.

‘Of course, it is,’ Cecilia thought to herself. She shot a glance at Draco who had his poker face on. ‘Here we go.’

Cecilia followed closely behind Lucius and Narcissa with Draco tight by her side. There were more wizards attending the game than Cecilia even knew existed and it wouldn’t take much to get lost within them.

Lucius led them up to their seats in the Minister’s box. As they walked along, Lucius would nod his head in greeting at many wizards who passed them by. Cecilia noticed most of them wore dark cloaks and a permanent scowl etched on their face. Just like Lucius.

Beside her, Draco walked with his chin titled slightly in the air. He looked arrogant. In front of them, Narcissa wore a cold poker face she only wore when they were in public. Cecilia hated the image they all painted for themselves out in public.

Cecilia however, stuck out. Sure, she looked like a proper Malfoy. Blond hair, pale complexion, grey eyes and high cheekbones. The only difference was she certainly didn’t act like one. When Cecilia walked through a crowd, she tried to walked with confidence not arrogance. There was a fine line between the two and Cecilia balanced on it.

When they finally reached the Minister’s box, Cecilia heard Lucius scoff. “Oh look, it’s the charity cases,” he said quietly to his wife. Narcissa didn’t react, she only tilted her head to the side glancing back at Cecilia and Draco. She was curious who Lucius was talking about until she saw the orange hair. The Weasleys.

Lucius greeted the Minister of Magic while Narcissa, Cecilia and Draco searched for their seats. Cecilia found herself looking up at the family seated in front of her. Fred and George were there of course, they had both grown out their hair, so it reached their shoulders. It surprisingly suited them. Ron sat beside them; his hair was also longer than it was at the end of their last school year. Harry was there too with Hermione beside him.

Harry caught Cecilia’s eye and smiled up at her. She smiled back trying to hide it from Draco who was too busy scowling at Ron anyways. Harry opened his mouth to say something to her, but she only shook her head and mouthed, ‘later,’ to him. Fred also looked like he was going to say something to her, but his brother nudged him sharply in the ribs shutting him up.

At that moment, the Minister of Magic stood up and amplified his voice so the entire stadium could her him. “Ladies and gentlemen, welcome! Welcome to the final of the four hundred and twenty-second Quidditch World Cup!” The sound from the crowd was deafening. Cecilia, in that moment, let herself get completely lost in the crowd, in the game. It was as if everything tuned out, the Malfoys, the Weasleys, everything. And the match began.

…..

“I still can’t believe Ireland won even though Krum caught the Snitch,” Cecilia said for the third time that night.

Draco rolled his eyes again. “Shut up Cecilia, I know what happened, I saw it with my own eyes.” She made a face his way and he smirked back. Beside them, Narcissa tutted adoringly. She didn’t mind the banter between the two, it reminded her of sibling banter, and she loved the idea they saw each other as siblings rather than just cousins.

The four of them were seated around a table in the dining room extension of the tent. Lucius was silent almost as if he was lost in his own mind while his wife, son and niece all discussed the match they had just watched. Narcissa even joined in every once in a while, which was odd for her since she wasn’t really a fan of the sport.

When they finished dinner, Lucius excused himself from the table and left the tent. He must be off to his reunion she assumed. She watched Narcissa’s mouth form a tight line as she watched him leave but she didn’t say anything. Instead, she flicked her wand to clear the table and when to make herself busy in the kitchen area.

“And the Veela’s,” Cecilia continued moving from the table to the couch. Draco groaned in annoyance but followed her plopping down beside her.

“Cecilia, if you want to relive the match, I’d rather you write it down than annoy me with your play by play.” She smiled, she was planning on writing it down later in a letter to Sirius.

The thought of Sirius in that moment made her remember that she wanted to talk to Harry about him. She knew Harry was here somewhere with the Weasleys, all she had to do was find their lot. She remembered the Muggle who had the map of everyone’s campsite, he would be able to guide her where she needed to go.

“I’ll be back,” Cecilia whispered to Draco. She stood up looking at Narcissa who was now pouring herself a glass of wine in the kitchen. Draco threw her a questioning glance but didn’t ask. Instead, he just nodded skeptically. She assumed he didn't ask questions because she was still annoyed with her, but it worked in her favour.

Cecilia slipped out of her tent and tried to navigate her way through the other tents. She made her way to the front of the campsite by memory to where the Muggle in charge sat in a small box. “Name?” he asked without looking up at Cecilia.

“Weasley,” she said looking around making sure no one heard her.

The Muggle gave her instructions to the Weasley campsite and she took off. She weaved her way through the celebrating wizards making her way to the Weasley’s tent. Everyone was celebrating the Irish winning the cup. Even the Bulgarian’s were out drinking. There was magic everywhere Cecilia looked. From fireworks to enchanted flames, it was spectacular.

It didn’t take Cecilia long to find the small tent the Weasleys were staying in. Outside of the tent sat two ginger men she didn't recognize. “Oh god, not more gingers,” Cecilia huffed out as she approached.

“Who might we have here?” One of them asked. He had the same red hair and freckles as the rest of the Weasley boys though his hair was the shortest of the bunch. Cecilia hadn’t seen him around Hogwarts, so she assumed he was one of the older ones.

“I’m here for Harry,” Cecilia said stopping a few feet shy of where they were sitting.

Both boys gave each other a look then smiled back at Cecilia. “Potter, Malfoy’s here to see you!” the one with longer hair shouted towards the opening of the tent.

“It’s Black actually,” Cecilia corrected harshly.

“Well, you look like a Malfoy,” one of them said.

“And you came with the Malfoys,” the other added.

A moment later, Harry came rushing out of the tent with a confused look on his face. “Why would Malfoy, oh hey Cecilia,” he said once he realized who it was. Then he turned to the Weasley boys. “She goes by Black not Malfoy, Bill.”

“So, we’ve heard,” the one who wasn’t Bill said smiling at Cecilia. “You must be the daughter of the criminal then.”

Cecilia smirked, “the one and only.” The Weasley only smiled more, he seemed amused. His reaction briefly reminded her of Fred. Just then as if the thought summoned him, Fred popped his head out of the tent.

“Oi Harry, need backup against Malfoy?”

Harry shook his head gesturing to where Cecilia was standing. “No, it’s not Malfoy.”

Fred smiled at where Cecilia was standing and fully emerged from the tent. “Well, well Cecilia Black, what an honor.”

“Nice makeup Weasley,” she gestured to his face that was covered in green and white paint.

He must’ve missed the sarcasm in her voice because he beamed at the faux compliment. “Oh, you’re too kind Black.”

Cecilia rolled her eyes and turned to Harry. “So, have you-” she was cut off by Harry pulling her into the tent.

“For privacy,” he said as he led her to a couch just off the entry way. “Have you heard from him?”

Cecilia nodded, a smile forming on her face. “Yeah, we’ve written back and forth but it’s not the same thing, you know?”

“I do,” Harry agreed.

They sat in silence for a moment till she spoke again. “I miss him.”

“Yeah, me too.”

Cecilia watched Harry and smiled. If the events from June had ended differently, they would be living with Sirius, they would be a family. She wondered what it would be like to have Harry as a brother. The only brother figure she had was Draco and she knew Harry and Draco were completely opposites.

"Have you-"

Fred busted into the tent stopping Cecilia from speaking. “Cecilia Black in my tent, this is a dream come true!”

“Piss off Weasley,” she muttered. Harry watched her face change quickly at the presence of Fred and laughed.

Fred plopped down beside Cecilia and threw his arm over her shoulders. “Oh, won’t you stay for tea my dear Black?” Harry kept laughing harder as the scowl on her face grew with annoyance. A loud banging noise came from outside and the three of them turned their heads towards the sound. “Looks like the Irish are celebrating hard out there.”

Suddenly, the two Weasleys who were sitting outside ran into the tent with urgency in their movements. “What’s wrong Charlie?” Harry asked analyzing the look on Charlie’s face.

“It’s an attack, we need to get out of here immediately!”

Fred and Harry jumped up from the couch. “Who’s attacking?” Cecilia asked still sitting frozen in her spot.

“Death Eaters,” Bill said this time. Both of their calm and collected demeanors from the around the fire were long gone and there was only panic and urgency.

Death Eaters. Her first thought was her mother, she had been a Death Eater once. Whoever was out there wasn’t her mother though. Then it hit her, Stella Malfoy wasn’t the only Malfoy who was a Death Eater.

Then it all clicked.

Quidditch World Cup, reunion and after dark.

Cecilia jumped up immediately. “I gotta go,” she whispered to Harry who was standing beside her.

“Where are you going?” Harry asked grabbing her arm keeping her from running out of the tent.

“Malfoy,” was all she said, and Harry seemed to understand. He let go of her arm and Cecilia flew out of the tent. Outside was utter chaos. There were witches and wizards everywhere running around every which way. There was fire and yelling and panic. So much panic.

Cecilia didn't know how to get back to her tent from the Weasley's tent. She just started running in a direction she hoped was the right one. Amongst the fire, the chaos, the screaming and the panic, there were wizards walking around dressed in full black cloaks and masks covering their identities.

‘I wonder if Lucius is under one of these masks,’ she thought to herself as she passed another Death Eater.

In all the madness, Cecilia swore she heard her name being called. She was approaching the end of the tents and she could see the trees from the forest the surrounded the camping grounds. Another voice stood out to her; she swore it was Draco’s but there was so much else going on she wasn’t certain.

She kept moving with the crowd and wizards. She was lost and she wasn’t sure how she was going to find her family. Cecilia started to get overwhelmed, panic overtook her senses and she had to resist stopping and just breaking down on spot.

Suddenly, her body was jerked to the side as a hand yanked on her elbow. “Cecilia where the fuck were you?” Draco hissed into her ear as he pulled away from the crowd into a clearing just withing the tree lines.

“Where’s Narcissa?” she asked urgently. “And Lucius?” she felt as if she had to ask about him too thought she was certain she already knew where he was and what he was doing.

Draco didn’t answer, he only dragged Cecilia along through the crowd until they were more secluded. “Mum’s fine and I don’t know where Lucius is. C’mon move your feet.”

Behind them, there were screams. Cecilia turned around towards the screams, her heart hurt for the victums. Then a bright light flashed behind them towards the sky. Where there was once haze and clouds now lay the form of a skull with a snake coming out of its mouth. Cecilia recognized the Dark Mark immediately. The mark that showed up with death.

“Draco,” she breathed out pulling back towards the tents.

He only pulled her harder. “There’s nothing you can do Cecilia; we need to get out of here.” Draco pulled her further into the tree line until all the noise disappeared and there was only the sound of scared wizards in the forest. He stopped and turned towards her. “Where were you?” he asked again. Cecilia didn’t answer she just stared back at her cousin. His eyes were full of fury and worry.

“Where’s Narcissa?” she simply asked again. Draco looked around a few moments before softening his grip. Narcissa came rushing towards them from her left. She quickly embraced them both and then grabbed their hands. Narcissa still said nothing as she apparated the three of them from the area.

When they landed in front of Malfoy Manor, she finally spoke, “off to your rooms, both of you.” Her voice was firm and her eyes said it all. They held the same fury and worry like Draco’s before but there something else there. She couldn’t pinpoint the emotion though; it was one she hadn’t seen on Narcissa before.

She gently nudged them into the door urging them to their rooms again. Cecilia walked slowly beside Draco. They didn’t say anything but spoke with glances. She wondered if he knew about Lucius’ reunion. She did yet she didn’t do anything about it. ‘How could you have guessed this,’ she tried to reason with herself. Still, she felt guilty like it was somehow all her fault.

When she reached her room, she shut her door tightly. She rushed to her desk and pulled out a fresh piece of parchment scribbling furiously across the page letting out everything. What happened, what she knew, how she felt and her guilt. As she was writing, she watched tears splash on the paper smudging some words. She sent the letter off twenty minutes later. 

_Dear Padfoot…it’s all my fault…I knew…it’s all my fault_


	7. The Triwizard Tournament

Lucius didn't come home the night of the attack. Cecilia tried staying awake all night, awaiting his arrival. A part of her wanted to confront him about it and the other part told her there was no point. If she did, Lucius would hate her more, if she didn't, she'd hate herself for not saying more on the matter. It was a battle between both sides.

She was already at war with herself about the attack. After she'd calmed down a bit, she rationalized that there was no way she was responsible for the attack, no matter what she'd known. She'd already sent out her letter to Sirius however and now she was worried about what he'd think. She'd barely known her father for two months so she wasn't sure how she would react.

The day after the attack, Lucius finally made it home. He didn't speak to anyone, not even Narcissa. Instead, he locked himself up in his study. Cecilia contemplated sneaking down that hallway again and spying on him. She then voted against it since the last time she did, she'd accidentally overheard him planning an attack and she was still beating herself up about it.

She knew there was only a week left of summer until she could escape to Hogwarts and away from her uncle. She didn't feel safe with him lurking around even though she knew that the attack was on Muggle-Borns and Muggles. Cecilia was as pure-blood as can be and she was his niece, so she wasn't sure why she was so worried. Still, she thought of him as dangerous. She'd never seen the Death Eaters in action before and she hoped she'd never have to again.

A thought that popped up a lot during that week was the fact this was the first time the Death Eaters had reunited since the downfall of Voldemort almost thirteen years ago. She wasn't sure if it was just a one-time thing or something else was happening. She hoped it was the first thought because if it wasn't, it meant this was the beginning of something bad.

She wanted to ask Draco his thoughts on the attack and what it meant, but she was scared of his reaction. Draco believed in all the blood purity crap and she wasn't sure his answers would make her feel any better. She also wanted to ask Sirius, but she was still waiting for a response from the first letter she sent, the night of.

The only other person she thought about talking to was Harry. The only problem was that she wasn't sure if they were there in their friendship yet. They had only just started getting along and she wasn't sure if contacting him now was the best idea. If he was with his Muggle relatives, it probably wasn't the best idea.

Cecilia finally decided that maybe she should just keep her thoughts to herself. She was used to doing that anyways, so it wasn't hard, it was just lonely. Just like before, she was lonely. She'd thought back a lot to Draco telling her she should have some fun this year, she just wasn't sure how she should do it.

When Cecilia thought of fun people, she thought of the Weasley twins and all their stupid pranks or their inability to take anything seriously. She wasn't sure if that was the kind of fun she wanted to be having though, stupid pranks. She also was sick of feeling so lonely all the time. If she was going to have some fun, she wanted it to include her making a friend or something.

That seemed like a dead end, however. Cecilia tried to think of everyone she knew and who would make the best friend when it came to fun. She thought again of the Weasley twins then gave up. She wasn't a fan of the annoying pair of gingers and she was sure that associating with them wouldn't help one bit.

Draco also mentioned something about a boyfriend. Maybe she could try for that. It would certainly make her less lonely; it could also be fun if she picked the right guy. She thought again of all the boys at Hogwarts and sighed. The only guy she tolerated at Hogwarts was Blaise and she wasn't sure she could convince herself to date him.

There was nothing wrong with Blaise and he was a good-looking guy, but he was Draco's friend. There was that and the fact that Blaise was one of her only friends at school already. She wasn't sure she wanted to ruin one of the limited friendships she already had. Plus, she wanted to have some fun and Blaise was far too serious for that.

After she was sure she'd exhausted all her options, Cecilia decided she would wait till she got to school to decide what she was going to do. Maybe she'd revisit the Blaise idea if he'd suddenly dropped the serious act. In the meantime, she finished up all her summer homework and prepared for another year at Hogwarts.

On the last day of August, Cecilia sat at the dining table with Draco and Narcissa. Lucius was absent which made Cecilia feel more relaxed. At least she could act more herself with her other two relatives. Narcissa was speaking with the both of them about the next school year. It was the usual stuff, were we excited, what we were looking forward to?

"Draco, did you see the dress robes I bought for you? Make sure you pack them," Narcissa said suddenly, a new question.

"Why does he need dress robes?" Both Draco and Narcissa looked at Cecilia funny, as if she should already know the answer to this question.

"Did father not tell you?" Draco asked with a knowing smirk on his face. "It's for the Triwizard Tournament."

"What!?" Cecilia cried out. "Wasn't that discontinued after someone died!"

Draco smiled brightly. "Yes, they're bringing it back this year!"

Cecilia was quiet. She looked at Narcissa who had a small smile on her face. Was she worried? Cecilia certainly was. As much as Cecilia wanted a normal year, just like she wished for last year, it certainly wasn't happening now. "Aunty, I don't think I have any dress robes," Cecilia finally said.

Narcissa met her eyes and her smile widened. "I didn't buy any for you, I thought maybe you'd like to wear something your mother wore." Cecilia blinked; she couldn't believe it. She'd never had anything of her mothers, other than the room she stayed in. She didn't want to ask before because she wasn't sure where all her mother's stuff was.

After dinner, Narcissa led her to the area of the manor that was mostly for storage. She opened a closet door and inside it was full of boxes. "This is mostly your mothers' stuff," Narcissa explained as she read through the labels on the boxes. "I didn't want to throw it away in case one day you wanted it."

"Thank you," Cecilia whispered. She wasn't sure what else to say. She was too excited to see what was in the boxes. Narcissa stepped back and levitated one out from the stack and it landed gracefully in the middle of the hall.

Inside the box, there were half a dozen dress robes inside. Narcissa was explaining that the Malfoy's would hold Gala's sometimes, so Stella had a variety of robes because of it. Cecilia rummaged through the box looking for one that stood out to her.

She pulled out a dark red one and Narcissa laughed. "Christmas 1975, she nearly gave my cousins a heart attack wearing that." Cecilia smiled up at her aunt. She wasn't sure if she meant the pluralize the word, but she didn't ask. Instead, she pulled out a dark green robe. "I picked that one out actually, she wore it to mine and Lucius' wedding." Cecilia liked the idea of wearing something that her mother wore, and her aunt picked out, but a third dress caught her eye.

The dress was a dark purple, so dark it looked black until it hit the light. It was made of a velvet material that looked and felt expensive. When Cecilia pulled it out and held it up, she noticed how it had a slit up its leg and the neckline was lower. The straps were thin, and Cecilia wondered how they even held up the dress, they were so thin.

Beside her, Narcissa was smiling softly. "Your mother rebelled in subtle ways you know. This dress was no different."

"It's beautiful, can I take it?" Narcissa hesitated a second, probably knowing how revealing it actually was, but she nodded slowly. "Thank you," Cecilia breathed out.

Cecilia packed the dresses back up and then took the velvet one to pack away. She wondered what her mother wore this one to, Narcissa never mentioned it. Wherever it was, Stella was doing it to get a reaction. She wasn't sure from who or why, but the thought she was wearing it to be rebellious made her chose it.

When she got to her room, she packed the dress in her trunk along with everything else she needed for the school year. She then changed into her pajamas and climbed into her bed. As she was falling asleep, the thought about her mother and all the ways they were alike.

.....

Narcissa took Draco and Cecilia to King Cross the next day herself. The three of them pushed their way through the crowded Muggle part of the station until they reached platform 9 3/4 which was even busier than the other side of the barrier. Cecilia kept close behind trying not to bump anyone with her heavy trunk.

They quickly said their goodbyes to Narcissa and then they boarded the train. Cecilia hated this part, finding somewhere to sit on the train. She decided to follow Draco into an empty compartment. She knew his friends would be joining him, she could just ignore them when they did. It wasn't like she had anywhere else to sit.

"Are you going to enter the tournament?" Draco asked out of the blue. It was still just the two of thankfully.

Cecilia shrugged, "probably not. Doesn't really seem like my scene. Are you?"

"Probably. I'd probably win it too." Cecilia laughed loudly at Draco's remark. He glared at her in return clearly not loving the reaction she was giving him. She continued laughing until Crabbe and Goyle swung the door open revealing Cecilia red in the face because of laughter and Draco red in the face from embarrassment.

"C'mon boys, she's gone mad. Best leave her alone," Draco spat at Crabbe and Goyle leading them out. Cecilia calmed down after that appreciating the fact, she was alone. She looked out the window gazing at the landscape. They boys weren't gone ten minutes before coming back into the compartment laughing.

"Should have seen his face go red!" Draco said and all three of the boys roared in laughter.

Cecilia looked at them sit down around her. Draco beside her and Crabbe and Goyle across from her. "What did you do?" she asked turning to face her cousin.

"Weasley, it's just so easy with him. Bring up his family and it's an instant reaction!" Cecilia frowned slightly. She knew he was talking about Ron and she felt bad about it. Draco could be ruthless when it came to pissing him off. She didn't say a word though, the minute she did, Draco would be all over her about siding with blood traitors. That wasn't a fight she was ready to have with him yet.

Cecilia spent the rest of the train ride trying her best to ignore Draco, Crabbe and Goyle. She pulled out a book and tried to get absorbed in it so she could block out the outside world. It worked for most of the trip. Every once in a while, Draco would ask her to back up an argument or asked her opinion and each time, Cecilia would sigh and come up with the wittiest thing she could think of.

This continued the rest of the trip until they were finally at Hogwarts. They were joined by Blaise shortly after getting off of the train and the four boys took up a carriage leaving Cecilia behind. She didn't mind, she needed to get away from them, they were starting to get on her nerves. Thankfully, the carriage behind her had a spot open. Harry gestured her over to join him, Ron and Hermione.

"Sorry about my cousin," was the first thing she said when she climbed up beside them.

Ron rolled his eyes. "It's not your fault you were born into that obnoxious family."

Cecilia smiled in return then turned to Harry. "Have you heard from Sirius lately? I sent him a letter after the World Cup and still haven't heard back."

"No. I sent one before that and still haven't heard back," Harry answered. "I hope he's okay."

Cecilia felt herself get worried and it must've traveled to her face because Hermione spoke up quickly. "I'm sure he's fine!" she gave her a small smile in appreciation but stayed quiet the rest of the ride.

They exited the carriage and made their way to Great Hall as always. Then they sat down and waited for the sorting ceremony to take place as always. After the ceremony was over, the feast popped up and everyone dug in as always. The only thing that was different was Dumbledore's after feast speech.

First, he started it by announcing he was cancelling the Quidditch Cup which caused quite the ruckus among all the houses. Cecilia knew now that it was because the Triwizard Tournament, but she assumed no one else knew why. It took a few moments to calm everyone down.

Then, just as he was about to announce it, the ceiling of the Great Hall started acting up causing another ruckus among the students and the teachers. It was stopped shortly after by a man who came hobbling in to save the day. He looked run down with scars on his face, an electrical eye and what looked like a wooden leg. Dumbledore introduced himself as the new Defence Against the Dark Arts professor, Professor Moody.

Finally, Dumbledore got around to making his big announcement. "The Triwizard Tournament will be hosted at Hogwarts this year!"

From the Gryffindor table, Cecilia heard Fred's voice boom through the Great Hall. "You're JOKING!" The students laughed except the ones surrounding Cecilia. She herself tried to keep her giggle in. Draco shoot her a look when he saw her smirking at Weasley's comment.

"I'm not joking Mr Weasley," Dumbledore continued with a hint of humor in his voice. "The Triwizard Tournament is held between three different wizarding schools from around the world. We will be joined by the students of Durmstrang and the ladies of Beauxbatons."

There was a loud chatter that erupted from the four long tables. New students, now that was something Cecilia was excited about. Her idea from the summer was no longer hopeless, especially if there were other wizards coming to join them this year. Dumbledore quieted the students down before continuing his speech.

"These students will be arriving in October and will stay with us during the year. We will select our champions on Halloween! Any student over the age of seventeen is eligible to submit their name in hopes of becoming the Hogwarts champion."

Another chatter among the students rose, this time it was groaning because of the age restriction. Cecilia swore she could hear Fred's voice complaining from where she was sitting with the Slytherins. It took longer for Dumbledore to calm down the crowd this time.

"Now, now, we still have our own classes to attend so I bid you all a good night and the best in your studies at Hogwarts this year!"

Cecilia got up once Dumbledore dismissed them. She followed Draco and his pact to the dungeons to their common room. In front of them, Draco was complaining loudly about the age restriction and how if there wasn't one, he would defiantly win the tournament. Pansy beside him was nodding along agreeing with everything he said and Crabbe and Goyle were praising how well he would do in the tasks. Blaise was the only one not speaking, she liked him best because of that.

They made their way into the common room and then up to their respected dorms. Cecilia pushed open the door to her dorm and was greeted with the other fifth year Slytherin girls. There was four of them in total, two were best friends and one was not separated from the other. They both hated Cecilia. The other girl was super quiet and never spoke to the other three.

Cecilia also kept to herself and tonight was no different. She simply got ready for bed and then climbed in drawing her curtains around her for some privacy. Beside her, the bitchy duo, as Cecilia called them, were talking about the boys from Durmstrang. Cecilia listened as they talked about how many cute older boys there were going to be in the hallways these days.

She felt herself drifting off as she revisited her plan from the summer. Find a boyfriend, have some fun. One of the Durmstrang boys could certainly help her with that. That was her plan.

.....

September passed quickly as everyone anticipated the arrival of the other schools. The Hogwarts students were strongly encouraged to continue to take their studies seriously since this year was the same as any other. Everyone knew that was a lie, sure they had to take their classes and exams, but there was an excitement that filled the school in anticipation of what was to come in the next month.

On the third day of school, Cecilia finally received a letter from Sirius responding from the one she sent over a week ago.

_Dear Cecilia,_

_Listen to me, it's not your fault. You couldn't have known Cecilia, what happened is not your fault._

_What it means however, that I'm not sure. It couldn't have been a coincidence if you knew two weeks before it happened. It was planned, it was staged, it was on purpose._

_Be careful Cecilia. I mean it._

_Back in the day, Lucius was one of Voldemort's most loyal followers. The fact he was a part of this cannot be good. They're up to something Cecilia but I'm going to ask you to stay out of it. I am begging you to stay out of it. You and Harry both. This is so much more than you think, and I cannot have you putting yourself in danger. Let the Ministry deal with it, you focus on school._

_I am currently working on a different more personal way we might be able to communicate through once you're at school. Continue to write but remember to be careful. At Hogwarts there will be a lot more pairs of eyes than the three you have at Malfoy Manor._

_I will repeat myself again. It is not your fault, please be careful._

_I love you,_

_Padfoot_

Cecilia showed Harry immediately and then he let her read his. "He's coming back!?" she cried rereading the words again.

"Mhmm," Harry said rereading Cecilia letter. When he was done, he turned to face her. "What is he talking about? You knew about the attack!"

"Overheard Lucius talking before the Quidditch World Cup about a reunion, I had no clue he meant that kind of reunion!" Harry watched her carefully then nodded accepting her answer. Cecilia continued anyways. "I felt so guilty when we got home that night, so I wrote Sirius right away telling him everything."

Harry gave her a small smile. "He's right then, it wasn't your fault."

Cecilia smiled back then nodded to his letter. "What's that about your scar hurting?"

Harry groaned in annoyance. "It's really nothing, just this stupid dream I've been having."

"Must not be stupid if Sirius is coming back because of it!"

"Not because of me, because of the signs."

Cecilia thought carefully before telling Harry about her thoughts from the summer. "You don't think he's coming back, do you?"

"Cecilia he literally said he was," Harry answered through clenched teeth.

"Not Sirius," she countered. "Voldemort."

Harry stood in spot for a second, his face fell, and he looked stunned. She must've caught him off guard. "Maybe."

Each time after that, when one of them received a letter from Sirius, they would trade and read what the other had to say. Most of the time it led to a discussion about what they were both writing to him about. She found the more they talked, the more they became friends.

It was funny thinking about how her and Harry were bonding over the fact their guardian was on the run from wizard authorities and they started bonding talking about Death Eater attacks and the possible return of Voldemort. Still, they grew closer and started trusting the other more and more each letter.

It wasn't long until October finally arrived and the time for the Durmstrang and Beauxbatons students to arrive at Hogwarts. The entire week before their arrival, the professors had a hard time calming the students down enough to teach the class. Cecilia continued to think about her plan to get a boyfriend and have some fun this year though she supposed she wasn't too lonely anymore, so the boyfriend part wasn't extremely necessary.

When the classes finished on the day of the arrival, most of the girls rushed back to their dorms quickly to get ready before the arrival. Cecilia wasn't one of those girls however, she stayed back with Harry and they talked more about Sirius. Harry had just received a letter saying he was back in the country which made Cecilia nervous.

"He's so much more at risk here," Cecilia whined to Harry as they made their way to the Entrance Hall.

"I tried talking him out of it, took back what I said about the scar, but he didn't believe me."

Cecilia shook her head in frustration and Harry sent her a small smile. Not long after, she said a quick goodbye to Harry and joined the Slytherins who were lining up on the other side of the hall.

Since the beginning of the school year and her newfound friendship with Harry, Cecilia was avoiding Draco as much as possible. It wasn't too hard since they didn't really cross paths too much at school. She was worried how he'd react if he found out about the friendship. He wouldn't understand why Cecilia was friends with him, so she kept it a secret for now.

She found a spot beside the bitchy duo and listened as they talked about the Durmstrang boys again. They had done this most nights since the return to Hogwarts, so Cecilia was used to it by now. She'd never really had a girl friend and she wondered if they always only talked about boys. These two did.

The Hogwarts students waited in the Entrance Hall for a long time before there was any sign of the visiting schools. The first to arrive were the Beauxbaton students. The entered Hogwarts with a grace that couldn't be explained with words. It was as if they didn't walk but floated everywhere they went.

Moments after the girls arrived, someone pointed at the lake. A boat suddenly came out of the lake and Cecilia assumed it was the Durmstrang boys. They exited the boat and made their way up to the castle. She took a moment to look at them before they got too close. Most of the boys who came were seventeen and eligible for the tournament. That meant that they all look bigger, older and somehow meaner.

The Durmstrang boys all wore big fur coats and matching hats. They all looked as if they could pick Cecilia and snap her body in half if they tried. It was intimidating. Not a single one of them smile, they all just marched their way towards the castle.

Beside her, the bitchy duo was giggling uncontrollably. They were loving this, Cecilia on the other hand was rethinking her plan about dating one of them. Sure, they were all extremely handsome, but she wanted a fun year and all of them reminded her of Blaise. Attractive but way too serious for her.

After the arrival of the two schools, the Hogwarts students followed the visiting boys and girls into the Great Hall. They were all filing the house tables up. Durmstrang sat with the Slytherin's and Beauxbaton sat with the Ravenclaws. Cecilia found herself beside one of the Durmstrang boys and in front of another. She tried smiling up at them and only one smiled back. Even smiling, Cecilia found him extremely intimidating.

She then focused on the feast that had just popped up instead of trying to make friends. The food was different. She assumed it was from the other school and Dumbledore was just trying to make them feel comfortable and welcome.

After they were finished dinner, Dumbledore spoke to everyone. "Welcome those from Durmstrang and Beauxbatons." He continued on to explain some rules about the tournament and then repeated that only those who were seventeen-years old were allowed to participate. That earned another groan from the younger students of Hogwarts. He introduced a man from the Ministry who was in charge of the tournament and Cecilia found herself starting to get bored.

Then, as if Dumbledore could sense he was losing focus of some students from the crowd. His voice boomed again. "All students who wish to become champions must put their name in this." Dumbledore then tapped a box with his wand and out came a large cup that was clear and with a light blue design on it.

"The Goblet of Fire," Dumbledore introduced. "This Goblet will be surrounded by an age line preventing those who are not of age from putting their name in it." He then continued to explain more about the dangers of the tournament and Cecilia thought back to the conversation she had with Draco about the student who died during this tournament. She couldn't think of a reason they would bring it back if they thought it was so dangerous.

Eventually, Dumbledore dismissed them off to bed and Cecilia made her way back down to the dungeons for bed. Just like on the first night, the bitchy duo was there already talking about which Durmstrang boys they had their eyes on. She ignored them as usual and climbed into bed forcing herself to sleep after a long exciting day.

.....

The next morning was a Saturday and most of the students, including Cecilia, were gathered in the Great Hall around the Goblet of Fire watching as various students went forward and entered their name. Each time a new student entered their name, there was a small cheer from the students surrounding it. Cecilia thought it was charming at first, but now she found it rather annoying.

Cecilia was sitting close to the Goblet next to Harry who was reading Cecilia's new letter from Sirius. Hermione sat beside him reading a book. She barely looked up when there was cheering. Cecilia found herself watching everyone in the Great Hall while she waited for Harry to finish reading the letter.

"They're all so serious!" Cecilia whined out suddenly, catching the sight of another Durmstrang who was putting his name in the Goblet.

Beside Harry, Hermoine finally looked up from her book and giggled at Cecilia's words. "They are aren't they."

"It's so annoying!" Cecilia whispered over Harry's back at Hermione.

Harry looked up from the letter then. "Why is it annoying?" he asked.

Cecilia paused wondering if she should say anything. Hermione was also watching from beside him; her eyes were glittering full of questions. She was suddenly lost all interest in her book, something that never happened with Hermione Granger.

Finally, she gave in. "Draco says I ought to have more fun at school. I was thinking with all the new Durmstrang boys, maybe I could have some fun!"

Harry made a face and Hermione only laughed. "Cecilia, I didn't think you had it in you!" she giggled. Harry muttered something about not wanting to know more and reread Sirius' letter to her.

"What's this about having some fun?" A voice said from beside her. Cecilia sighed turned to Fred trying to put an innocent look on her face.

"I don't know what you're talking about Weasley," she said trying to sound sweet and innocent.

Fred smirked, "if you're looking for someone to have some fun with my dear Black, look no further." Fred was leaning in so closely; Cecilia could feel his hair tickling her shoulders.

"Piss off Weasley," she mumbled. A blush started to cover her cheeks because of their close proximity. She tried to push away the thought of how that was one of her options she came up with, but it was also the first she dismissed.

"Fred let's do this," George said coming up beside him. Fred stood up from his spot beside Cecilia and stepped down to his join his brother facing the students sitting around. She watched him gather the attention of the students that milled about. They all stopped what they were doing immediately to watch him. Something about that Fred Weasley charm she supposed.

"Ladies and gentlemen, watch as George and I cheat the system and become champion contenders!" The students around him cheered. George handed him a small vial and Fred continued. "This here is Ageing Potion we cooked up last night! Once we take it, George and I will step over that line and put our names in the Goblet!"

More cheers arose. Hermione however was shaking her head. "It's not going to work!" Cecilia voiced her agreement and Fred and George leaned in.

"What's this we hear ladies?" George said swinging an arm around Hermione.

"No faith in your boys?" Fred said mimicking his brother's movement around Cecilia.

"Weasley get off of me," Cecilia hissed. He only smirked and pulled her closer.

"Just you watch and see my lovely Black, I'll show you." Cecilia groaned in annoyance and Fred stood up with his twin once more. This time, instead of addressing the crowd, they popped open the cap of their vial and downed the drink. They waited for the effects of the potion to kick in before stepping carefully over the circle. Once they made in it without the line kicking them out, the crowd of students around them cheered as they quickly pulled out pieces of parchment from their robes.

Next, they flicked the paper into the Goblet and waited. Nothing happened again and the cheering continued. Cecilia looked over at Hermione who watched the Goblet carefully, smirking when she saw the flames start to act up. They started surrounding Fred and George, then like arm, they flung the two boys across the Great Hall. Everyone who was once cheering, was now laughing at the misfortune of the boys. When they stood up, Fred and George had grey hair and even had grey beards growing on their once smooth faces. The laughter continued until they started arguing and eventually got up to go to the Hospital wing.

Once they left, the laughter died down and everyone went back to what they were doing before. Cecilia faced Harry to see if he was ready to talk about the letter, but when he spoke, he surprised her. "He's right you know," Harry said.

"I know, I know, stay safe and stay out of it," Cecilia said waving her hands and reciting the words from Sirius' letter.

Harry laughed, "not Sirius, I meant Fred." Cecilia raised an eyebrow at him prompting him to explain himself. "Well, you said you wanted a boy to have fun with or whatever, Fred's perfect for the job. Plus, he already fancies you Cece!"

Cecilia stared at him with her mouth gaped open. Harry stared at her back with the look of innocence on his face. Beside them, Hermione was trying to stifle her laughter with her hand. "Harry, with all due respect, Fred is the most annoying person I have ever met."

Harry just shrugged handed her letter back to her. "I'm just saying, why go looking for a Durmstrang boy when what you're describing is right in front of you and practically begging you to pay attention to it."

Cecilia's mouth dropped open even more. She was shocked with Harry's words. She didn't know what to say to him because technically he was right. Still, she wasn't going to admit it, so she took a different way out. "Harry Potter, boy who lived by day, cupid by night."

Hermione lost it at Cecilia words and burst out in a loud laugh. Harry rolled his eyes and fished into his bag looking for something. Cecilia took it as her cue to leave. She tucked her father's letter into her robe and made her way out of the Great Hall.

Just as she was about to reach the entrance, she saw Draco standing there glaring at her. "What was that all about?" he asked rudely.

Cecilia looked back at Harry and Hermione who were still grinning about her comment. She turned back to face Draco. "Made a snarky comment about the Weasleys, apparently they agree."

Draco eyed her carefully and when he spoke, he did so in a threatening manner. "Be careful who you're seen with Cecilia. We have an image to maintain, we can't be seen with Mudbloods and blood traitors."

It took all of Cecilia's power not to roll her eyes all him. Instead, she forced herself to nod her head which satisfied Draco. She stepped around him and walked away. Cecilia knew she had to be more careful if she was going to maintain her friendship with Harry and keep her cousin from hating her.

.....

When Halloween day arrived, all the students were excited for the feast at night. Normally it would be because the Halloween feast at Hogwarts was just short of spectacular. Today however, it was because they were announcing the champions for the Triwizard Tournament.

There wasn't much to do during the day expect anticipate and make bets on who was going to be selected as champions. As Cecilia went through her day, she noticed lots of people taking bets on who was going to be chosen from each school.

If people weren't taking bets, they were trying to make friends. It was mostly the girls fawning over the new boys and the boys fawning over the new girls. Cecilia didn't even need a book for entertainment that day, all she needed to do was plant herself beside the Beauxbaton girl who was part Veela. She learned quickly her name was Fleur Delacour after the third boy addressed her, asking her on a date.

Fleur was the popular pick from Beauxbaton and Victor Krum was the popular pick from Durmstrang. Cecilia could see why, he was a professional Quidditch player and all. Even Cecilia had seen one of his games two months ago. He constantly had girls all over him. He was also Cecilia entertainment that day.

The day passed quickly and after a long day of people watching, Cecilia was excited to have a nice good feast and finally find out who was going to be a champion.

The Great Hall was full to the max now that they had more students in it. Cecilia found it difficult finding a spare spot at the Slytherin table now that Durmstrang had also claimed it as their own. In the end, she picked a spot next to a Durmstrang boy and sat down quietly. He smiled politely her way, but that was the end of the exchange.

The feast was as magnificent as always. Cecilia ate as much as she could stomach and then a little more. She was probably going to regret the second helping of pudding. Everyone ate quickly and Dumbledore addressed it when he finally stood up ready to give his end of feast speech and announce the champions.

"Seems we're all excited about this next part, now aren't we?" The students cheered in agreement and Dumbledore smiled back. "Well, I can't blame you, this is exciting stuff we are experiencing this school year. Let's get to it then."

As if on cue, the Goblet started reacting, just as it did with Fred and George. It's flame in the middle grew and then spit out a piece of paper into the air. Dumbledore caught it and unfolded it. "The Durmstrang champion is Victor Krum!" The Slytherin table erupted from the Durmstrang boys and the girls in the Great Hall were also noticeably louder than the boys.

"The Beauxbaton champion is-" Dumbledore continued catching another paper midair, "Fleur Delacour!" There was loud cheering from the Ravenclaw table were the Beauxbaton girls were sitting.

Another paper shot into the air. "Finally, the Hogwarts champion is, Cedric Diggory!" This time, the students of Hogwarts were the loudest of all. "There we have it," Dumbledore concluded after the hall settled down. "Our three Triwizard champions! We wish them all good luck as they embark on this journey that-"

Dumbledore stopped speaking suddenly as the Goblet of Fire acted up again, it looked as if it were ready to spit another name out. This time, when the flames rose form the cup, it was with fiercer than the last three names. Almost as if someone was forcing it to do so. Then, just like the other three times, a piece of paper shot out of the flames and started its path in the air towards Dumbledore. The Great Hall was silent as they waited for Dumbledore to speak again.

Dumbledore caught they paper and unfolded it slowly. He read it once, twice and then a third time before speaking.

"Harry Potter."


	8. The Double Task

The surprise following Halloween’s events lasted over a week and it was clear that no one was impressed with Harry being a champion. It seemed as if the entire school had turned their back on him. They were even wearing badges that switched between CEDRIC DIGGORY, THE REAL CHAMPION and POTTER STINKS.

Cecilia couldn’t see why anyone didn’t believe him. The look on his face when his name was called was clear, it was the look of dread and fear. If he had purposefully put his name in, he wouldn’t have had that reaction when his name was called. It didn’t seem to matter though; the damage was done, and Harry Potter was the fourth champion in the Triwizard Tournament.

Draco was particularly perturbed with Harry’s fortune. Every time she was in his presence, he was complaining about Harry in a new way. And every time he said something nasty, Cecilia had to hold her tongue.

Ever since the day he saw her with Harry and Hermione in the Great Hall, Draco seemed to be lurking around Cecilia more often than not. She desperately wanted to talk to Harry about the whole champion thing, but every time she got close enough to do so, Draco was somewhere in the vicinity glaring daggers towards her. She knew he now had suspicions about her friendship with Harry.

A part of her did want to confront him about it, tell him to mind his business and let her be friends with who she wanted. She also knew if she did do that, Draco would tell Lucius about who she was getting chummy with and Cecilia wasn’t sure how Lucius would react. Whatever it was, it wouldn’t be good. There was also the fact she was still a little frightened by Lucius and Sirius had warned her against Lucius as well.

It was almost two weeks after Halloween when Cecilia finally got around to talking to Harry. She had been holed up in the library doing her homework on the Unforgivable Curses when Harry joined her at the desk pushing a piece of parchment in front of her. She quickly looked around to make sure Draco or his minions weren’t around before reading over the letter.

“Face to face? How is he going to manage that?” Cecilia asked after reading the first line. Harry didn’t answer, he just let her finish reading the rest of the letter. When she was done, he folded it back up and put it in his pocket.

“I don’t know, he wants us both there though. Think you could sneak out?”

Cecilia knew it was going to be hard. “I don’t know Harry…” she trailed off trying to come up with a way she could sneak out.

“You could use the Marauder’s Map. I’ll meet you outside Gryffindor common room at one thirty?”

She eyed him carefully then nodded, “yeah alright then.”

Harry took a spare piece of parchment from Cecilia quickly writing a response to Sirius. Cecilia watched him frantically write his letter, he looked tired, stressed and worried. “Harry,” she said breaking him from his writing. “I believe you, that you didn’t put your name in the Goblet.”

He smiled weakly, “thanks Cecilia.” He finished his scribbling then folded up the letter. “I’ll give you the map later this week alright?” She nodded in agreement and Harry left her to her studies.

When she was alone, she let herself get excited. The last time she had seen her father face to face, they were saying goodbye. She knew these weren’t better circumstances and they were mostly going to talking about Harry and how he was once again in mortal danger, but she still let herself get excited.

As their meeting with Sirius drew closer each day that passed, so did the day of the first task. It was scheduled for the end of November which was rapidly approaching. All the champions seemed to be hiding their nerves well, all except one.

Harry was constantly on edge every day at all times. Cecilia noticed that he’d distanced himself from some of his closer friends and could often only be seen with select few. When Cecilia asked him as he was handing her the Marauder’s Map so she could sneak out, Harry simply brushed it off and mumbled something about Ron being a jealous prat.

She felt guilty that Harry was losing his friends and his support over some complicated misunderstanding and she felt even worse knowing she couldn’t publicly defend him. Whenever she brought it up, Harry always brushed her off saying it was okay and he understood. She knew that Harry knew how the Malfoys felt about him, but that didn’t make her feel any better about it.

Of course, her and Harry had briefly bonded over the fact they were stuck living with their aunt and uncle who hated their parents. In her case however, it was only her uncle who was nasty, and her father was still alive.

In some ways it barely counted because he was on the run and she had to pretend she didn’t even know him, but Sirius was still there. He was there for both of them. Even if their communication was strictly vague letters and sneaking around the castle in the dead of night to meet him in the Gryffindor common room.

Which is how Cecilia found herself, eyes stuck on the Marauder’s Map as she navigated the halls of Hogwarts in the wee hours of a cold November night. Earlier at dinner, she could barely keep herself calm, she was so excited to speak to her father face to face again.

Draco even caught on to her good mood and questioned her on it. She simply answered she was excited to watch Harry make a fool of himself in the task that was later that week. He bought it and proceeded to talk passionately about all the ways Harry could mess up. Cecilia tried to drown out his voice as much as possible, she wouldn’t let her cousin ruin her good mood.

The halls of Hogwarts were eerie at this time of night. The last time she walked them this late was June, when she was making her way back to the dungeons after seeing her father off. Then, she wasn’t sure if she’d ever see him again. She was grateful that that wouldn’t be the case.

Once she arrived at the portrait which hid the entry to the Gryffindor common room, she stood awkwardly by waiting for Harry to let her in. She kept her eyes glued to the map making sure no one was coming her way; she didn’t know how she would explain her being there this early in the morning.

It was another five minutes before Cecilia noticed moving feet on the map; above them was Harry’s name but when she looked up, there was no one there. Cecilia pulled out her wand in case it was some sort of trap, but she knew deep down the map never lied. It was something Lupin said last year when Peter’s name showed up.

“Easy Cece. If you hex me now, I’ll be at an even worse disadvantage for the first task,” Harry voices washed over her. There was still no body in sight and Cecilia felt her own tense up. A moment later, Harry appeared grinning at her discomfort and waving a large piece of material in the air. “Cloak of Invisibility,” he reminded her.

“What were you doing that you needed your Cloak of Invisibility?” Cecilia questioned raising her eyebrows and shutting the Marauder’s Map.

Harry sighed, “I’ll explain inside.”

Harry gave the password to the Fat Lady in the portrait and she let them through. Not without eyeing Cecilia suspiciously first. She said nothing as Harry gestured her to follow him through.

The Gryffindor common room was nothing like the Slytherin one Cecilia was accustom to. While the Slytherin one was cold and dark, the Gryffindor one was warm and inviting. It was covered in red and gold, there were big comfortable couches everywhere and the fire in the fireplace was blazing brightly. She found herself gravitating to the biggest couch that sat in front of the fireplace. Cecilia sat down there, and Harry followed.

Once they were comfortably seated, Cecilia motioned for Harry to go on and tell his story about whatever he was doing before he met her. Before Harry could begin, there was a noise from the fire. When both of them turned their heads to look, they were greeted with Sirius Black’s grinning face in the fire.

“Dad,” Cecilia whispered dropping to her knees on the carpet. Harry followed her actions and dropped down right beside her.

Cecilia took a moment to look at her dad properly. She hadn’t seen him in months and at the time, he wasn’t looking too well. Now, he had properly groomed himself and looked a lot younger than he did when she first met him. His hair was slightly short, his beard trimmed, and his face was fuller.

Sirius and Harry had already started discussing everything that had happened since that summer. He mentioned briefly about the Quidditch World Cup and the dark mark that was there and something about a house elf which confused Cecilia slightly, but she didn’t bother to ask.

Then he went on to talk about the Triwizard Tournament and the shock he was in that someone had put his name in. He followed up with explaining the treatment he was getting for it and even mentioned Ron’s behavior again.

Lastly Harry mentioned that Hagrid had taken him out earlier that night and shown him what the first task was. Dragons. “That’s where I was,” he said looking at Cecilia now. She didn’t know what to say, she only nodded. It was taking her longer to wrap her head around the fact there were dragons on school grounds for students to face.

She turned to Sirius to see what his reaction was. Her stomach dropped when she registered the amount of worry on her father’s face. When Harry finished talking, Sirius finally spoke up. “I’m less worried about the dragons than I am about who is inside the castle walls right now.”

Cecilia leaned forward as Sirius went on. He told them stories about one specific Death Eater, Igor Karkaroff. He told them about how he was a Death Eater back during the Wizarding War and when Voldemort fell, he went to Azkaban, but talked his way out of it. Now he was the Headmaster at Durmstrang and currently at Hogwarts.

“You think _he_ put my name in the Goblet of Fire? But he was furious when my name was called!”

“I think that Karkaroff is a good actor. He did convince the Ministry of Magic to set him free.” Harry said nothing so Sirius continued. “Look, I’ve been reading the Daily Prophet-”

“You and the rest of the world-”

“And,” Sirius said cutting him off. “I saw something about Moody supposedly being attacked before he arrived at Hogwarts. It was deemed a false alarm, but more and more attacks like that have been happening. Cecilia do you remember what I told you after the Quidditch World Cup?”

Cecilia stared into the fire trying to recall what he wrote to her about that attack. She remembered that he mentioned it wasn’t a good sign and the fact Lucius was involved. She mentally reread the letter until she realized what Sirius was talking about.

“You said you thought the Death Eaters were up to something! Do you think this is it!?” Cecilia cried out reaching out to grab Harry’s hand. She wasn’t sure if it was more to comfort him or herself.

Sirius sighed nodding his head slightly. “I think the tournament would be a very good way to attack Harry and make it look like an accident. Plus, there are Death Eaters who would have known about the tournament early enough to put a plan in action.”  
“Lucius knew,” Cecilia said squeezing Harry’s hand. “He told Draco before we even left for school.”

Sirius watched Cecilia with sad eyes. She watched as his eyes flickered back and forth between Harry and Cecilia kneeling side by side with their hands clasped together in fear. “I assume you aren’t going home for the Christmas holidays?” he asked looking directly at Cecilia.

She shook her head no. “The Yule Ball falls on Christmas; I’m staying here for that.”

“Good. Whatever is going on, Lucius might be in on it and I need you to stay out of his way, okay?” Cecilia nodded showing him she understood. Now she knew that the Death Eaters were most likely behind this, she had no intention in placing herself in one’s presence on purpose.

“Now Harry, about the dragon-”

Sirius was cut off by a sound coming from behind them. Both Cecilia and Harry turned around to see a shadow descending the steps of what Cecilia assumed led to the dorms. Harry reacted quickly by grabbing his Cloak of Invisibility off where he had put it on the couch and throwing it over Cecilia’s head. He quietly whispered be quiet and he plopped himself down on the couch trying to act natural.

Cecilia kept her gaze on the fire watching as Sirius threw her a small smile before his face disappeared and the bright flames returned. Once she was sure Sirius’ face wasn’t going to return, Cecilia turned her body carefully to face where Harry was now standing and facing Ron.

They were throwing bitter comments back and forth across the common room. Cecilia saw with her own eyes just what Harry meant by Ron being a huge prat. They went back and forth a few times before Harry grabbed a POTTER STINKS pin sitting on a table and threw it at the Weasley boy. Ron responded by turning on his heels and storming back up from where he came from.

Cecilia stayed under the Cloak as Ron made his way back upstairs. Once both her and Harry were sure he was gone, she slipped the Cloak off. “I’m sorry he’s being like that Harry,” she said handing him his Cloak.

Harry took it with a sad smile and offered a shrug in response. He grabbed the Marauder’s Map from the spot Cecilia placed it and handed it to her. “You’re going to need this if you want to get back to your dorm without getting caught.”

Cecilia grabbed the map. Neither one moved from their spot in front of the other for a few seconds. Finally, Cecilia walked forward and pulled Harry into a tight hug. “It’s going to be okay Harry. If any fourteen-year-old wizard can do this, it’s you.”

“Thank you Cece,” Harry whispered into her hair. When they broke apart, Harry smiled at Cecilia and then stepped back. “I’m going to bed. I’ll see you later.”

With that, Harry turned around and followed Ron in the direction of his dorm. Cecilia opened the map and made her way towards the portrait to leave. She double checked that the coast was clear before stepping out of the Gryffindor common room and making her way back to the snake pit.

…..

Cecilia hadn’t seen much more of Harry the rest of the week and she was sure that he was preparing for the first task now that he knew what it was. Most of the school was still up in the air as for what to expect, Cecilia was one of the only people who knew the truth.

Each time she passed one of the three other champions, she wondered if they knew what they would be doing in a couple days. She also found herself trying to picture any one of them fighting a dragon. The thought made her shiver. She was worried for them, all of them, but none more than Harry.

She couldn’t imagine having to fight a dragon at the age of fourteen. When she was fourteen, her biggest problem was Sirius escaping jail. In the end, it wasn’t even a problem that he escaped jail, nor was he planning on killing her like she initially thought. It turned out for the better and she got to finally meet her father and learn the true story about the story surrounding his arrest.

Harry, however, did have to face a dragon at fourteen. And the dragon was only the first task of three. She knew that this probably meant the tasks were only going to get worse after this. If he survived this.

She wasn’t sure what his game plan would be. She wondered if maybe Sirius had sent him a letter finishing whatever thought he started a few nights ago. Cecilia hoped he did, she couldn’t imagine Harry walking in completely unprepared to face one of the most dangerous creatures ever.

The thought made her nauseous. It was that and the excitement all the other students had in anticipation of the first task. Cecilia wished she could just scream at everyone explaining that this wasn’t fun. It was four very real people facing death for their amusement. There was a reason the Triwizard Tournament has been banned all those years ago, but miraculously, everyone seemed to have forgotten.

When the day of the first task arrived. Cecilia was almost convinced she’d be better off not going to watch. The only thing that was stopping her was the fact that Harry was still being treated poorly and it would probably help if he looked up into the stands and saw someone supporting him.

She took her time making her way to the Quidditch pitch, where the first task was taking place. She refused to go with Draco when he offered knowing that he would probably just make fun of Harry the whole time. Cecilia knew she wouldn’t be able to sit there and listen to him while she watched her friend face danger.

When she did arrive, there wasn’t much room left for her. She ended up squished between a couple of the Beauxbaton girls who were cheering loudly in French. Cecilia adjusted her robes and casted a heating spell on them engulfing her body in heat as she sat back and watched.

Ludo Bagman was standing in the middle of the Quidditch pitch staring up at everyone as he announced the first task. He mentioned dragons and eggs, but Cecilia could hardly find herself focusing as she watched a large group of wizards bring one to the dragons into the makeshift arena.

He heart stopped as she first laid eyes on the size of the dragons they would be fighting. She’d never seen on in real life before today, and they were bigger than she had expected. She watched carefully as the group of wizards in charge of the dragons set up the first task for the first champion.

She found herself eyeing one wizard in particular she thought to be familiar. His red hair reminded her of the Weasleys. She realized then he was one of the brothers she’d met at the Quidditch World Cup, though now she couldn’t remember which one he was.

She wondered if maybe Harry went to him for help on how to deal with his dragon. She knew Ron and he still weren’t talking, but she hoped that maybe that didn’t matter, and he still went for help anyways.

Once Bagman finished his speech and announced the first champion, Cedric Diggory stepped out of a tent and faced the crowd. Around her, the crowd went wild as they watched him face his dragon.

Cecilia couldn’t help but wonder why everyone was so happy and cheerful watching one of their peers face a dragon. She knew it was probably different because Cedric had willingly signed up to put himself in danger, but Harry did not. And yet they still had the same fate.

It didn’t take Cedric too long to retrieve his egg. If someone asked Cecilia how he did it, she wouldn’t be able to answer. While her eyes were trained on the pitch, her mind was elsewhere and not paying attention. It was the same when Fleur then Krum completed their task.

When it was Harry’s turn, Cecilia tuned in to watch him make his way onto the pitch. He looked younger and smaller than the other two champions, because he was, and compared to the dragon, he was practically a pebble.

Cecilia clasped her hands together and leaned forward on her elbows. She watched as Harry raised his wand up and casted his first spell. She was confused as to why he wasn’t going after the dragon, but after a few seconds of delay, Cecilia watched as Harry’s Firebolt came zooming towards him. He mounted the broom, and he was off.

Flying, of course that would be the best strategy for him. He dove and flew side to side making the dragon follow each of his movements. While his movements were graceful on his broom, the dragon’s were harsh and uncontrolled.

Harry continued his tactics until the dragon had enough and whapped him with his tail. Harry stayed on his broom and kept flying around though it looked as if he had been cut from the hit. Cecilia watched as he tried to get the dragon to chase him. That way, it would abandon the egg and Harry could easily swoop in and grab it.

Cecilia watched as Harry continued his strategy until finally, the dragon did just that. When the egg was properly abandoned, Harry took that moment to dive down and grab the golden egg as if he were in a Quidditch match and the egg was replaced with the Snitch.

The dragon keeping wizards rushed onto the pitch to grab the dragon and Harry was ushered back into the tent that he came from. Cecilia was grinning from ear to ear at Harry’s success. She looked up to watch the crowd cheer for his victory hoping now maybe they’d lay off him a little bit. As she was scanning the crowd, she caught the eyes of Draco who was looking directly at her joyful face with a scowl on his. Cecilia dropped the smile immediately and looked away.

When she looked back up for her cousin, he was gone, and a chill ran through Cecilia’s body. If Draco was suspicious before, she’d just confirmed his initial thoughts and she prayed to Merlin that he wasn’t going to tell Lucius. Because if Lucius found out her and Harry were friends, especially now since Cecilia knew what he was up to, she couldn’t imagine how he would react.

…..

After the first task came and went, it wasn’t long before the excitement surrounding it faded. Once the first task was pushed to the back of everyone’s minds, another event took the spotlight at Hogwarts. The Yule Ball.

The Yule Ball was coming up and Cecilia didn’t have a date. She wasn’t all that surprised; she didn’t socialize with many people and the people she did were mostly family. There was also the fact there were a selected number of students still afraid of her since Sirius Black was still on the loose.

She briefly remembered her little plan from the summer. It seemed silly now compared to everything else going on in the castle. Between dragons and Death Eaters, Cecilia had completely forgotten this year she was supposed to have fun and even try to find someone to have fun with.

She was losing hope on the plan now. They were almost halfway done the school year and Cecilia hadn’t acted in any way to see her plan through. In the beginning she blamed it on the fact there weren’t any good prospects, now she knew it was because she genuinely didn’t care to get to know anyone new.

The problem now, was the Yule Ball. If there was any time to go out and meet a handsome wizard to sweep her off her feet, now was the time. But seeing as though she found herself being shy when it came to guys, she only had handful of boys she already knew that would be options as dates.

Of those options, there was no one Cecilia wanted to go to the ball with. There was the Slytherin Quidditch team which was full of arseholes and boys who all thought she wasn’t good enough. Then there was Draco’s friends who Cecilia thought were childish and disgusting. Finally, there was Harry and the few Weasleys she knew, though they were completely off the table. Cecilia couldn’t show up to the ball with any of them without Draco biting her head off for it. 

She ended up getting so desperate one day that she resorted to asking Hermione for help. It wasn’t that she was particularly close with her, it was just that she was the only girl she got along with. Her other option was Pansy, but that was not something Cecilia was ready to resort to.

She found herself sitting at the library with Hermione one night and she thought if she was going to ask her for help, now was as good of a time as any. “Hermione,” Cecilia started watching the younger girl carefully, “what are you doing about this whole Yule Ball thing?”

Hermione tore her gaze form her book and smiled softly at Cecilia. “I’ve been asked! Have you?”

She groaned much too loudly for the library earning a few glares her way. “No, and I don’t even know who I want to ask me!”

“Well…” Hermione said trailing off. She got a look on her face that said she was thinking. When Hermione didn’t finish her thought, Cecilia prompted her.

“Well, what? Spit it out Granger.”

Hermione was still thinking. Then a slow smiled spread across her face. “I can think of someone who doesn’t have a date who would be more than willing to take you.”

“Who?” Cecilia asked. She cringed at the slight sound of desperation that wormed its way into her tone.

Hermione continued to smile causing Cecilia’s stomach to drop. The smile the girl was supporting made her look like a maniac, like someone who had just come up with an evil idea. “Fred.”

“Hermione no!”

“So, you’re saying if Fred asked you, you wouldn’t say yes?”

Cecilia nodded, “that’s exactly what I’m saying. Plus, I couldn’t go to a dance with a Weasley, Draco would literally have my head. If not him, then my uncle.”

Hermione made a sour face at the mention of Draco and Lucius. Then she looked at Cecilia with sad eyes. “I didn’t know you cared so much about what they thought.”

“I don’t,” Cecilia started then stopped. How could she explain to Hermione that she didn’t care about all that, but her family did, so she had to pretend to. She had to pretend to hate her behind her back because the Malfoys hated her. It was difficult to put into words the situation she constantly found herself in. The part of her that didn’t care what her family thought and the part of her that knew that her rebellion against them would only cause more problems.

Instead of spilling her guts, she simple looked at Hermione and said simply. “I have the Malfoy image to keep up, don’t I?”

Hermione shook her head looking back down at her book. “You know, you don’t have to be exactly who everyone thinks you are. You have the choice to be a different person, a better person.”

Cecilia didn’t know what to say. Eventually she turned her attention back to her homework, but she found it hard to concentrate. Hermione’s word had struck her a certain way. As much as Cecilia knew she wasn’t like the Malfoys, she still kept up the act, so everyone else thought she was.

Cecilia always thought people didn’t like her, feared her because of Sirius Black and all the allegations about him. She never thought that maybe it wasn’t anybody’s fault but her own. She was quiet, she didn’t talk to people, she didn’t have friends and she was often lonely. To other people, she must look stuck up and privileged, just like Draco.

Her homework lay open untouched while Cecilia was lost in her thoughts. She quickly packed it up and said goodbye to Hermione who was too lost in her book to notice the change in Cecilia’s mood. Cecilia made her way out of the library still lost in thought.

She’d always hated the Malfoy image; she’d always silently made fun of it. Cecilia knew that it wasn’t her. But to everyone else, she was exactly that. A pure-blood witch from a rich family who thought she was better than everyone else because of her blood status. And she’d never done anything to prove them wrong.

Cecilia knew that she didn’t care. She was friends with Harry, she talked with Hermione, she didn’t mind the Weasleys, or most of them. She couldn’t care less what a person’s blood status was, what their house was, who their parents were, any of it. Yet her default choice, to be seen with blood traitors or not to be seen with them, was the choice of a Malfoy.

She was so lost in thought that Cecilia didn’t even realize she’d somehow made it back to the Slytherin common room. She stood outside the entrance staring like she didn’t know what she should do next. Instead of saying the password and letting herself in among the other Slytherin’s, Cecilia turned on her heels determined to prove a point.

There was no logic in her next move, there was only the haunting thought that if she continued on the path she was on, she was going to turn out no better than Draco. She wasn’t sure what her mother was like, but Narcissa said she often rebelled against her family. And Cecilia was going to do just that. ‘Your mother rebelled in subtle ways,’ Narcissa once said. Cecilia knew it wasn’t enough, she still ended up a Death Eater. If she was going to rebel, it was going to be in a not-so-subtle way.

Cecilia forced herself to move towards the Great Hall. With each step, Cecilia tried to convince herself that this reckless move was indeed a good decision no matter what the consequences were. And Cecilia was more than certain there would be consequences. In the end, she couldn’t imagine anything was worse than becoming exactly who Lucius wanted her to be.

The Great Hall was filled with students either hanging out or doing homework. Students were mingling between houses and schools and there was laughter and smiles everywhere. Everyone was in a good mood, that or the girls were getting extra giggly and flirty hoping to find a date to the Yule Ball.

Cecilia was there for the exact same reason, to find a date to the Yule Ball. And her boy of choice was seated at the Gryffindor table with his head thrown back in laughter.

Double checking that Draco wasn’t around, Cecilia moved towards the table. Harry noticed her coming and waved her over. She greeted him politely grabbing the table’s attention. Before Harry could ask what, she was up to, Cecilia turned and faced Fred. “I need to talk to you.”

Fred’s jaw popped open with shock before he quickly snapped it shut and nodded eagerly. Cecilia tilted her head towards the door, gesturing for him to follow her. She moved out of the hall and down one of the corridors before she was certain they were completely alone. Only then did she turn around and face Fred.

The usual arrogance Fred had with Cecilia was gone, instead he stood in front of her with his hands in the pockets of his robes looking shy. If Cecilia wasn’t so nervous, she would have already made at least three snarky comments about his behavior around her.

“So,” Cecilia started coughing to clear her throat. “I need a favor.” When Fred didn’t respond, she kept going. “I know it’s a little bit out of nowhere and you can absolutely say no but-”

Cecilia found herself trailing off when Fred’s face broke into a huge grin. He started laughing and Cecilia found all the confidence she’d built up on the walk over fade away. “I don’t believe my eyes. Is Cecilia Black asking me to the Yule Ball?”

She couldn’t avoid the rapid spreading blush that found its way onto her cheeks all the way down her neck. Cecilia was convinced all the skin on her body instantly heated and was now all red and blotchy. She squeezed her eyes shut suddenly regretting her decision. She should have known he’d react like this; it was Fred Weasley after all.

He laughed even harder at her reaction. Cecilia buried her face into her hands wishing she could just disappear. “Forget it, forget it,” she mumbled into her hands.

Fred’s laughter died and he tried pulling her hands off of her face so she could look at him. “Cecilia,” he chuckled. “I would love to escort you to the Yule Ball.”

When she pulled her hands away, she was greeted with Fred’s warm brown eyes. They held the glint of mischief in them like they always did, but there was something else mixed in. Cecilia was sure it was amusement; he was absolutely loving this.

“I have one request,” she said after nodding her head in agreement. “You can’t tell anyone we’re going together; it’s got to be a surprise.”

Fred furrowed his eyebrows. “A surprise for who?”

Cecilia didn’t know how to explain to him that she had to mentally prepare before she showed up publicly with a blood traitor. She knew that once she was seen with him, Draco would act out and they would fight which would ultimately result in him telling Lucius. She was certain she needed to defy him, but a part of her wanted to put it off as long as possible.

Instead of voicing her messy confusing thought, she simply said, “Draco,” and Fred seemed to understand completely. He agreed he’d keep it a secret as long as he got to show her off on the dance floor on Christmas night. Cecilia reluctantly agreed before parting ways.

As she watched Fred throw her a wink and walk back to join his friends in the Great Hall, Cecilia forced herself no to think too much about what she had just done. Because if she thought too long about it, she might just realize that this small enough gesture was about the affect her in every way possible in just a week’s time.


	9. The Yule Ball

After securing a date to the Yule Ball, Cecilia found herself more relaxed as the holidays started. All the third years and younger went home for the holidays, even some of the older students who didn’t want to participate in the Triwizard festivities left. Cecilia couldn’t care less because it meant that the Slytherin common room was emptier than usual.

She would often hide out there away from Harry and his moping because he was still dateless to the ball and Hermione who looked at her with a questioning look after she’d finally confessed and said she’d found herself a date, but she couldn’t share who.

Cecilia also had to hide out from Fred who was more cheery than usual, even for the holidays. She also found herself questioning if she was making the right decision by acting out against her family every time she looked at him. She couldn’t risk chickening out on her rebellious plan so she stayed away until she could either fully convince herself it was the right idea or until Christmas night actually came.

The last person she wanted to hide from made her job easy by actively ignoring her. She was sure Draco was still angry about whatever he saw at the first task, but he didn’t bother saying a word about it to her right away. The first time he mentioned it was when he brought up the Yule Ball.

“Do you have a date Cecilia?” he asked one afternoon a few days before Christmas while she was busying completing all the homework giving to her for the holidays.

Cecilia barely looked up at her looming cousin before replying with a quick, “yes,” and returning to her book.

Draco wasn’t satisfied and kept pushing for information. “Who’s taking you?”

“Why does it matter Draco?” Cecilia asked with a loud sigh.

“You know why it does. We can’t have you parading around with blood traitors or Mudbloods now can we?” Cecilia kept her gaze down and focused on not giving away anything with her body’s reaction. Draco continued to push. “Is it someone from Durmstrang? Or are you going with Potter?”

Cecilia’s head snapped up at the mention of Harry. “What makes you think I’m going with Potter?”

“You know why Cecilia. I know you’re hiding something, and it has to do with him.” Draco leaned forward on his palms. Cecilia knew he was trying to look intimidating. To anyone else it might’ve worked, but she was unbothered.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” Cecilia lied effortlessly through her teeth. “And for your information I am _not_ going to the ball with Potter. It _is_ some Durmstrang bloke okay?”

Draco eyed her down before rolling his eyes. Cecilia couldn’t tell if this meant he believed her or he was done with her lying. Either way, he dropped the subject and let her be. Once he was gone, Cecilia let out a breath she wasn’t aware she was holding. If Draco was that annoyed at the thought of her going with Harry, she knew he would be furious when he found out who it actually was.

As much as she appreciated Draco leaving her be, she also wished they weren’t constantly at odds while they were at school. Cecilia knew that her Yule Ball stunt would surely ruin her relationship with her cousin and that was one of the main reasons she was still uncertain of the act.

They grew up like siblings and while they were at home and away from school, they really did get along and act like it. Once Draco is in public however, he always is playing his part of the Malfoy Heir which just so happened to be an unsufferable snob.

But if not wanting to ruin her relationship with Draco set her back, once she realized the role he played in public and how he perceived himself to be, Cecilia was convinced all over again that she didn’t want to turn out like that, and it was indeed a good plan.

Her mental war went back and forth for days until it was too late, and Christmas had arrived.

The castle on Christmas morning was the most magical thing Cecilia had ever seen. The way the snow fell on Hogwarts grounds and the dozens of trees set up around the castle all seemed much more magical on Christmas day itself and not just the days leading up.

Cecilia’s Christmas morning started off with her opening presents with Draco that were addressed from Lucius and Narcissa. Draco was in a slightly better mood on Christmas morning than usual which made Cecilia actually want to be in his presence.

Off to the side of the common room, Cecilia found herself sitting on a large armchair beside Draco with his friends scattered around them. Crabbe and Goyle were watching as Draco flaunted his gifts from Lucius and Narcissa while Pansy and Blaise chatted side by side with cups of tea in their hands.

It might’ve been the Christmas spirit or the fact she hadn’t gotten much sleep the night before, but Cecilia felt strangely okay with the presence of the younger Slytherin’s that morning.

Of course, it ended quite quickly when Cecilia opened her gift from Narcissa, and Pansy decided to pay attention to her. “What’s that in your hand Cecilia?” she asked from her spot across the way. Her voice wasn’t warm nor was it cold. Still, Cecilia felt her defenses go up.

“It’s a necklace from my aunt,” she answered slowly holding it up for the group to see.

The necklace was gold and at the end of it hung a small elegant snake that was bedazzled with diamonds. There was a note inside the box that simply stated that this necklace would pair beautifully with the dress she was going to wear tonight. Cecilia quickly made a note to ask Narcissa if this necklace happened to also be her mother’s.

At its sight, Pansy made a small snorting noise that Cecilia didn’t understand. When she raised her eyebrows asking Pansy to elaborate, she simply rolled her eyes. “Oh c’mon, a snake? Not really your style these days Cecilia.”

The necklace was dropped back into the box and Cecilia glared across the way. “What’s that supposed to mean Parkinson?”

“It means,” Pansy said looking around the group. “You act all Slytherin when it’s convenient for you, but I’ve seen you running around more with the lions these days.”

Cecilia felt her breath catch in her throat. She tried to be discreet when she was with Harry or any of the other Gryffindors, but clearly Pansy had seen and now she was holding it over her head. She let her moment of panic pass over before she put on a cold face. “It sounds to me like you’re describing snake like actions. Sure, I act Slytherin when it’s convenient for me, what house does that sound like to you?”

Neither girl spoke, instead they settled into a small stare down that was broken up quickly by Draco suggesting they head up to the Great Hall for breakfast.

Cecilia levitated her gifts behind her and laid them onto her bed carefully. When she made her way back to the common room, the group had left without her, save for Blaise. When she met him at the end of the stairs, she smiled gratefully, and they walked in silence to breakfast.

She wasn’t sure what made Blaise wait for her, until he opened his mouth to speak. “Pansy’s right you know.”

Cecilia turned to face him with her eyebrows raised and her mouth slightly ajar. “I’m sorry, I don’t think I heard you correctly.”

Blaise rolled his eyes and continued. “It’s just that, ever since last year, you’ve changed. I’ve also seen you hanging around Gryffindors more often than not.”

She was silent a moment before she spoke slowly and carefully. “Some stuff happened last year and now I’ve got some shared experiences with a couple Gryffindors, so what?”

They both stopped in the entrance to the Great Hall and Blaise turned to face Cecilia. He looked around quickly and then lowered his voice. “Look, you know I’m not a fan of those blood traitors just like Draco, but I also know that whatever it is you guys have in common, it’s probably complicated.” Cecilia didn’t say anything, so Blaise kept going. “I’m not blind Cecilia, you’ve been receiving an anormal number of letters this year and every time you get one, you show it to Harry.”

Cecilia was shocked. She wasn’t aware that anyone was paying that much attention to her, but at the same time she wasn’t surprised it was Blaise who was. He was always the more observant of Draco’s friends, another trait they shared in common. She also knew that he was more loyal to a certain Malfoy than herself and that she couldn’t tell him anything without the risk that Draco was going to find out about Sirius and his letters.

And if Draco found out, chances that Lucius found out as well were high.

Blaise was waiting for an answer however, so Cecilia had to come up with something. “It is complicated, and I can’t even begin to explain it, okay? Can you just trust me when I say I’m acting in my own best interest?”

There was a pause of silence before Blaise smiled. “I can’t say I trust you; you are a Slytherin after all and whatever you’re up to can’t be good.”

“Fair enough. Why don’t you go tell Pansy that I can indeed be a snake, I have a lion’s den to visit.”

Blaise rolled his eyes but listened to Cecilia and parted ways from her towards the Slytherin table. Cecilia kept to her word and made her own way towards the Gryffindor table where Harry was sitting.

“Happy Christmas Harry,” she said sitting down in an empty seat beside the boy.

“Happy Christmas Cecilia,” he answered back with a genuine smile. “Got a package from Sirius the other day,” Harry said pulling something from his robe pocket. “This was addressed to you.”

Cecilia grabbed the envelope and opened it carefully. Inside was a long letter and a piece of jewelry. Cecilia unfolded the letter first and was greeted with her father’s familiar writing.

_Dear Cecilia,_

_I hope you receive my package in time. It’s my Christmas gift to you (Happy Christmas by the way). I also wanted to gift you a story about the significance of this gift and what it meant to your mother. I hope that you’re still willing to listen to an old man ramble on about his first love._

_When I was only ten years old, I gave your mother a bracelet. It was made of colorful string knotted in a certain pattern making up a cheap piece of jewelry. She, a Malfoy, was from the wealthiest family in the Wizarding World and I, a Black, was from the second wealthiest family. And yet one summer I snuck off to a Muggle street and stole this cheap bracelet that I gifted to her._

_At the time, she loved it. It wasn’t like the expensive gold or silver one’s she was given at home, she said it was personal and she loved it._

_Now Stella and I grew apart during our first years at Hogwarts, but I always noticed that no matter how annoyed she was with me, or how much she claimed she didn’t like me, your mother never took off that stupid colorful string bracelet._

_Fast forward to our seventh year at Hogwarts, I forgot to get her a Valentine’s Day gift and I didn’t want to seem like a bad boyfriend so I came up with a gift I hoped would pass for romantic and sentimental. I grabbed her wrist and transfigured that cheap bracelet into the gold one that I have enclosed in this envelope._

_Now that cheap bracelet was falling apart and had lost its color by that time, so I was hoping by turning this symbolic piece from our past into a beautiful gold bracelet that wouldn’t fade in color or fall apart, it would be a metaphor for our feelings. Started in the past, solidified once we were older._

_That’s right, your old man could be very romantic when he tried. And normally your mother hated it when I got all sappy like that, but it didn’t change the fact that she never took off that bracelet. The only time she did, was to give back to me the last time I saw her. She told me to hang onto it for her, and I think in a way she knew what was going to happen to her that night and she wanted to give me the bracelet then so I could one day pass it along to you._

_I heard the Yule Ball is on Christmas night and I wanted to give you the bracelet so you could wear it there and feel like a part of Stella and a part of me is with you. I know we can’t be together right now and it’s a little harder around the holidays, but I am thinking of you always my dear._

_I love you and I miss you, have fun at your ball._

_Padfoot_

_P.S I’m sure you have a date to the ball and I just want you to remind him that your father is a convicted murderer and will come after him if he hurts my little girl._

Cecilia finished reading the letter with a laugh at his message at the bottom. She then tilted the envelope over and let the gold bracelet Sirius had described land in her palm. It was simple and nothing fancy. It was gold like he described, but he had failed to mention that the inside was engraved. _Amor Omnia Vincit._

“I recognize that, it means love conquers all,” Hermione said peering over the table at the bracelet. “That’s really beautiful Cecilia.”

“Thanks,” she replied breathlessly, “it was my mother’s.”

“What did Sirius say?” Harry asked eyeing the long letter in her hands.

Cecilia smiled down at the letter and back at her new bracelet. “He just told me a story about him, my mother, and this bracelet.”

Harry smiled and gently took the bracelet from her hand. He undid the clasp and motioned for her to stick out her wrist. When she did, Harry put the bracelet on and smiled. “He told me a story about my parents at Christmas too. I guess he’s feeling sentimental.”

Cecilia smiled up at him and watched his face relax while talking about his family. It was times like this that she felt closer with Harry. As if somehow her, Sirius and him made up this dysfunctional little broken family.

She watched the bracelet bounce on her wrist as her hands moved. Every once in a while, she could see the engraved words. Love conquers all.

Cecilia looked across the Great Hall towards where Draco was watching her. She hoped that deep down maybe her family loved her enough, it wouldn’t matter in the end how she decided to perceive herself in public or who she decided to surround herself with.

But then again, the Malfoy family motto wasn’t love conquers all, it was purity will always conquer.

…..

The day passed slower than usual due to the highly anticipated event at night. Cecilia found herself reading in the Slytherin common room during the day listening to the girls around her talk about their dates, their dresses and their plan for their hair.

Cecilia found herself giddy every time she thought about putting on her dress for the night. Between the gold bracelet, the deep purple velvet dress and the necklace Narcissa gifted her, she was certain that tonight she’d be more Stella Malfoy than Cecilia Black.

It was late afternoon when the girls started slowly filing up into their dorms to start getting ready. Cecilia thought it was still too early, but when she found herself the only girl sitting in the common room, she decided that maybe it was time to put on her dress and make herself look presentable.

When she opened the door to her dorm, she was greeted with three girls all wrapped up in makeup and gossip. She was given the attention of all of her dorm mates when she stepped inside.

One of the girls, Selina, stepped towards her slowly. Cecilia couldn’t read her expression and she wondered for a second if she was coming over to kick her out of their dorm so the three friends could get ready alone.

Once Selina was a foot away, she greeted her. “Black.” A pause. Selina reached her hand out and gently grabbed one of Cecilia’s curls. She pulled it down and smiled when it sprung back up. “What are we going to do to your hair?” Cecilia raised her eyebrows surprised. Selina then pulled her over to where the other girls where and sat her down on the bed.

“Are you thinking up or down?” another girl, Viola, asked.

“Down?” Cecilia replied not entirely certain what was going on. She was often left alone when it came to her dorm mates. They rarely interacted and even when they did, it had more to do with schoolwork and class information.

Cecilia didn’t have much experience when it came to girl friends. She was closest with Draco, sometimes Blaise and now Harry. The closest girl she could consider was Hermione, but even Hermione wasn’t like this. She was in new territory, so she tried to relax and go with the flow.

They ended up styling her hair in loose waves that were sprayed back on one side and tumbled down her back and the other side of her shoulder. She let Viola do her makeup since she was apparently the best of them all and the end result was surprising. Cecilia looked like herself, but older and more mature. Her eyes grey eyes looked wider and her lips looked plump. The touch of blush on her cheeks gave her complexion the perfect amount of colour.

When she slipped on her dress, she got compliments from all three girls in the room. She added her snake necklace and a pair of gold strappy heels Narcissa let her borrow. The bracelet Sirius gifted her earlier was still dangling on her wrist tying the look together.

Once she stepped into the mirror, Cecilia barely recognized herself. Just like she suspected, she resembled Stella a lot more than she did herself. She watched her reflection for a few minutes soaking in her look.

Cecilia was the only one who was meeting her date at the Great Hall, so she thanked the three girls for their help getting ready and wished them all fun with their dates. When she was alone in the room, she gave herself a small pep talk before making her way down to the common room.

The common room was empty except for a few guys waiting around for their dates to be ready. Draco was amongst the boys there and Cecilia approached him. “Wow, you look like Aunt Stella,” Draco said smiling at her.

“I feel like her,” Cecilia whispered quietly so only he could hear. Taking one last look at Draco before her stunt, Cecilia tried to make her peace with what was about to happen. “No matter what Draco, we’re family and that means something to me.”

Draco gave her a funny look before answering, “it means something to me too Cece.”

“I just want you to know that, just in case you forget it.”

He paused before narrowing his eyes as if he was suddenly understanding where she was going with this. “What are you up to Cecilia? Does this have to do with Potter?”

A shook her head and smiled again. “I’ll see you there.”

Cecilia felt like a whole new person walking the halls of the castle all dressed up. The click of her heels on the floor, the feel of the velvet dress swishing around her legs, the bounce of her hair as she took step after step towards the Great Hall. She felt pretty and confident, she felt how she always imagined her mother felt.

The entrance to the Great Hall was crowded by the time Cecilia arrived. There were about a dozen boys in their dress robes waiting alone against the wall for their dates. Fred was amongst them when she arrived.

Cecilia wasn’t blind. She knew despite all his foolish pranks and forward personality, Fred was popular. While his popularity most likely was the product of his carefree energy, his looks defiantly had something to do with it.

She’d never really let herself look properly at him; he was always just that annoying boy who she swore she hated. A part of her wondered if that was only because she was supposed to. He was a blood traitor and Lucius had a deep hatred for any and every Weasley. It was the main reason she’d asked Fred, that and the fact she knew he fancied her.

But looking at Fred now, propped up against the wall talking loudly with his brother, Cecilia didn’t hate him, there was a still a part of her that found him terribly annoying, but she didn’t hate him. And she probably never really did.

Cecilia felt nervous all of a sudden, not because she knew Draco was about to show up any second and see her with him, but because it dawned on her that this was technically a date and she lacked all experience when it came to boys and dating. She’d been so busy preparing for what Draco was going to think about her public appearance with a Weasley that it didn’t even cross her mind that to Fred, this was a date.

All nerves fell away when Fred noticed her presence and greeted her with a bright smile. His dress robes brushed on the ground as he made his way to where Cecilia was standing. Once he was close enough, he dramatically stopped and bowed deeply in front of her. “Miss Black,” he greeted looking up from his bow with a glint of mischief in his eye.

Cecilia rolled her eyes waiting for him to stand up right again. When he did, she noticed that their height difference was slightly smaller than usual thanks to her heels and she didn’t have to crane her head up as much to look into his brown eyes.

The way Fred was looking at her made her blush. Her dress fit her perfectly displaying the small curve of her body, the low neckline left a bit of her cleavage showing at the top and the slit in her dress that came to her mid-thigh displayed one of her legs. In short, the dress didn’t leave much to imagination.

“You look like a dream.”

“You don’t look half bad yourself,” Cecilia said realizing she wasn’t lying. Fred wore his dress robes well. While any other day Cecilia would deny it, tonight she couldn’t. Fred Weasley was an attractive bloke.

Fred laughed at her half compliment throwing his head back. “Oh you flatter me Cecilia.” Cecilia found herself giggling too as she took the arm Fred offered her.

The Great Hall was decorated like a winter wonderland, all silver and white. The house tables had been transfigured into smaller round tables that formed a semi-circle around the front of the hall. At the front there was a stage with a band getting set up right in front of a massive space that formed a dancefloor.

“You okay sitting with some Gryffindor sixth years?” Fred asked leaning down so his mouth was next to her ear. Once he saw Cecilia’s confirmed nod, he led them over to a table that had a bunch of people she recognized from the Quidditch team. Fred greeted them, but it looked as if none of them were actually listening to what he was saying, instead they all were looking at Cecilia.

George, who never spoke to her, must’ve sensed the tension she created and tried to break it by addressing her directly. “Alright Black?”

Cecilia looked at him, and he looked back watching her carefully. She remembered then what he had said to Fred at the end of last year. ‘Be careful Freddie.’ She felt guilty as his words rung through her head. At the time, Cecilia assumed he meant be careful as in she was a Slytherin with a murderer for a father and her uncle hated his family.

Now she felt as if he meant something else. Fred had never been shy about the fact he fancied Cecilia. At first, she thought it was a joke because he knew it annoyed her, but over the last couple months, both Harry and Hermione brought it up again. Now, the way he was looking at her, the way he proudly announced Cecilia as his date, the way George was eyeing them carefully, she wondered if maybe Fred liked her a little more than she thought.

And she felt guilty because to him this was a date and to her it was a rebellious act.

Cecilia still didn’t fancy Fred like that. Sure, he looked good in his dress robes and she was quite aware that maybe she didn’t dislike him as much as she claimed to, but that didn’t mean she fancied him. She still found him mildly annoying and she was certain that he wasn’t ever going to grow out of his childish nature.

She felt as though she could see Fred as a friend, and she felt incredibly guilty for it. Mostly because she was now very aware that she was quite possibly leading him on. And the way George was looking at her, she wondered if he knew it too.

A girl’s voice brought her out of her thoughts. “That’s a beautiful dress Cecilia.”

Cecilia looked up to where George’s date was sitting next to him. She recognized Angelina immediately because of Quidditch. “Thank you, it was my mother’s.”

“Your mother was a Malfoy, wasn’t she?” she asked though Cecilia was sure she already knew the answer to her own question.

“Yes, she was,” Cecilia answered quietly. Nobody had anything else to say on matter and she was half convinced it was because of the hard stare Fred was giving Angelina from beside her. The table was uncomfortably silent for what seemed like minutes, but Fred broke the silence by commenting on how miserable Ron looked from his spot at a table filled with fourth years near the top table at the front.

“Look at our little Ginevra,” Fred continued pretending to coo over the youngest Weasley. Cecilia let her gaze fall on where Ginny was sitting next to Neville with a bunch of fourth years. As she was turning back to face the table, her eyes caught grey ones from across the hall.

Draco was glaring at her from his table on the other side of the hall. Cecilia didn’t even notice him enter the hall. She was surprised he hadn’t come over the minute he saw who she was sitting with and make a scene.

Beside Draco, Blaise was also watching her, shaking his head slightly. He told her earlier he knew whatever she was up to wouldn’t be good, she wondered if this is what he expected or if she’d caught him off guard just as she had with her cousin.

Fred said something from beside her causing her to break eye contact with Draco and spin in her seat away from him. “Huh?” she asked not quite catching his words.

“I said, your cousin looks like he’s going to murder us,” Fred commented tilting his head towards where the fourth year Slytherin’s were seated.

“He’ll get over it,” Cecilia said back not believing her own words one bit.

Before Fred could answer, the doors to the Great Hall swung open revealing the four champions and their dates. Cecilia watched Harry and his date make their way towards the top table before her eyes landed on her Hermione who was on the arm of Victor Krum. She smirked realizing she could certainly bring up her interesting choice of date later, once she realized who Cecilia's date was.

Once the champions were seated, people started calling out for their plates of food and Cecilia followed their actions. Once the food appeared, she dug in. Around her, the Gryffindors and their dates were all talking about various topics, some about how excited they were about the Weird Sisters playing and others about the tournament.

Cecilia felt herself keep quiet and try to follow whatever conversation Fred was having with his twin brother. Every once in a while, Fred would try and include her into the conversation, but she didn’t really know what to say. She felt out of place with the Gryffindors and she was very aware of the fact she was wearing a snake necklace around her neck reminding anyone who looked at it who she was. A Slytherin in the lion’s den.

She was thankful when dinner finished, and the champions took their spot on the dancefloor. People stood from their tables to gather around the edge of the empty space and watch the first dance of the night.

Cecilia was tucked carefully into Fred’s side as she tried not to laugh at Harry stumbling around the dancefloor. He almost tripped on his robes twice before Fred offered her a hand and they followed other couple out onto the dancefloor to join the champions.

Fred grabbed her hand with one of his and put the other on her waist pulling her in for the waltz. Cecilia’s other hand found its way to his shoulder and she gripped onto him as he spun her around. She even found herself bursting out in laughter as Fred went over and above with each movement causing her body to sway in every which direction.

When his movements calmed down, Fred spoke up. “Miss Black, have I told you how beautiful you look tonight?”

Cecilia answered with an eyeroll. “Yes Mr Weasley. To quote you from earlier, I ‘look like a dream’.”

Fred threw his head back and laughed. “Yes well, a pretty witch in a dress like that deserves every compliment offered her way.” Cecilia rolled her eyes again, this time with a smile on her face. “You said it was your mother’s dress?”

“Yeah, my aunt gave it to me. Apparently, my mother used this dress to rebel.”

“Sounds like my kind of woman.”

Cecilia moved her hand from Fred’s shoulder to smack his chest lightly. “That’s my mother you’re talking about Weasley!”

Fred’s company was a surprise. Cecilia didn’t think she’d enjoy herself this much with him. While she usually thought comments like that were annoying, now Cecilia thought they were slightly charming. If not the comment, then the loud booming laugh that followed. She finally understood why he was so popular, especially with girls.

Once the dance ended, the music changed to more party songs and Fred took the opportunity to spin Cecilia again. He was rewarded with one of her soft laughs, one she saved for when she was actually happy.

They danced to song after song while the Weird Sisters played hit after hit. Cecilia found herself less worried about Draco and anyone else as the night went on and Fred swung her around the dancefloor. She was half worried for her life as Fred took an opportunity and dipped her down to the ground. When he swung her back up, Cecilia caught Draco’s face from over Fred’s shoulder. She felt all the laughter drain from her body as his grey eyes bore into her. Beside him, Pansy was saying something to Blaise who just shook his head.

“I’m going to get some punch,” Cecilia yelled to Fred over the crowd. He nodded telling her he understood and let her go. She made her way over to the punch bowl while Fred was surrounded by George and Lee Jordan who were jumping up and down frantically.

The minute she reached for the punch ladle, she felt a presence beside her. She fully expected to see Draco when she turned to see who it was, but she was surprised to see Blaise there. He wasn’t glaring at her like Draco had been all night, but he wore a hard expression.

“What the hell do you think you’re doing?” he asked in a harsh whisper keeping his face steady.

Cecilia looked around to make sure no one was listening before answering. “I’m getting punch,” she answered innocently. Blaise scoffed and she knew her dumb act wasn’t going to fly.

“Draco has been seething with anger since he first stepped into the hall and saw you sitting all cozy with _a Weasley_.” Blaise said the last word with disgust.

“I told you earlier Blaise,” she started taking a pause to sip her drink. “I’m acting in my own best interest.”

“Cecilia,” Blaise said gripping her arm. “I don’t know what the hell kind of game you’re playing, but it isn’t funny okay? Draco is on the verge of owling home to your uncle and telling him everything.”

Cecilia pulled her arm out of Blaise’s grip and she dropped her voice into a deep harsh whisper. “Let him. I don’t care what Lucius thinks anymore.”

There was a heavy silence that followed before Blaise sighed. “You should. Trust me when I say that you don’t want to get on his bad side.”

“I think I know more than you Blaise. He’s _my_ uncle.”

“And I’m Draco’s best friend. He tells me things about your family. I’m trying to look out for you.”

Cecilia knew Lucius was dangerous. She’d witnessed it at the Quidditch World Cup and her father had told her, but her need to prove people wrong was deeper than her fear for Lucius so she dismissed Blaise and his warning.

Just as Blaise left, Hermione joined her grabbing a drink of her own. “Cecilia,” she greeted with a smirk on her face.

“Hermione.”

“You look very pretty tonight Cece.”

“You do too,” Cecilia answered back carefully. She knew Hermione was building up to something.

“I bet _Fred_ thinks so too.” There it was.

Cecilia rolled her eyes. “Before you say I told you so-”

“I told you so.”

“ _Before_ you say I told you so, I would like to point out the fact your date is professional Quidditch player which is a peculiar date for someone who claims to dislike the sport as much as you do.”

Hermione stared at Cecilia and matched her expression. Raised eyebrows, small smirk, mischievous sparkle in the eye. They both broke the staring with a small laugh. “I should get back before Victor wonders where I am.”

Cecilia watched as Hermione pushed back towards the dancefloor to find Krum. As she did, she spotted Fred talking with George at the edge of the dancefloor. Cecilia abandoned her drink and made her way to her date.

“Can I steal him for a dance?” she asked George who stopped what he was saying to face her. Both Fred and George looked at her with a weird expression on their faces and she felt her stomach drop.

Before she could ask what was wrong, Fred dropped the look and smiled instead. “Certainly, my lady.” He grabbed her hand and led her further into the dancefloor towards the middle where there was more of a crowd around them. He surprised her by spinning her around and then roughly tugging her arm until she hit his chest.

Cecilia adjusted her hand in his and then put her other one on his shoulder. Fred was looking down at her with a curious look in his eye. He opened his mouth to speak, but then shut it as if he was catching himself before speaking. He looked as if he was thinking hard before opening his mouth again.

“I’m glad you asked me to the ball Cecilia.” She didn’t know how to answer so she forced a bright smile hoping that was a good enough response. “Why did you?”

Cecilia froze, she wasn’t expecting him to ask that. The worst part was, she didn’t even have an answer. But he was waiting for one, so she tried her best to tell him the truth without telling him the truth. “I wanted to go with someone fun, you’re a fun guy Weasley.”

Fred grinned at the compliment, his entire face lightening up. “Don’t get me wrong I’m happy you did, but I will admit I wasn’t expecting you to, at all.”

She shrugged. “I’m definitely full of surprises. I think I surprised everyone here actually showing up on your arm.” Cecilia would be lying if she hadn’t noticed the extra attention she had received. It could partly be because of how she looked, but seeing a Slytherin, especially a Malfoy, on the arm of a Weasley was also an attention grabber. It was perfect, it was exactly what she wanted to happen. People noticing that she wasn’t afraid to be seen with a blood traitor.

Fred nodded in agreement. “It was bold of you to show up with a Weasley” Fred started. “I can see from here your cousin isn’t happy about it and I’m sure your uncle wouldn’t be either.”

Cecilia forced a laugh. “No certainly not.”

“You know, people always thought you were a lot like your family, especially George, but I never thought you were.” Cecilia could feel her breath getting caught in her throat. When she thought Sirius was the reason everyone avoided her, she always thought that Fred just was stupid to not be afraid of him. She never thought that the reason he talked to her and bothered her all this time was because he actually knew who she was. Not like her family, but someone better.

And right now, she wasn’t acting like someone better than her family.

Fred didn’t notice her sudden stiffness because he continued. “I bet they’re all rethinking your character now. Man, if I didn’t know better, I would think you planned it this way.” Cecilia felt her cheeks heat up like she was caught in the act and looked down at her feet. When she didn’t answer the cheeky smile from Fred’s face slowly fell into a small frown. “You planned this?” he asked in a whisper.

Cecilia felt her stomach twist. He wasn’t supposed to find about her plan. She felt incredibly guilty and decided that he at least deserved the truth and motives behind her actions. “I’m trying to prove everyone wrong, prove that I’m not the person everyone assumes I am because of my family and how I was raised.”

The frown deepened. “So, you’re using me. You’re using me to get back at your family?”

“No, not to get back at them,” Cecilia said shaking her head. “To prove that I’m not like them.” Fred was silent so Cecilia continued trying to explain herself. “Look it was recently brought to my attention that I’ve been playing Malfoy a little to well over the years, I just wanted to show people that I’m not like Draco.”

“You’re using me for your own personal gain? To stick it to your family reputation?” Fred asked again stopping their swaying. Instead, they stood there on the dancefloor, hand still in hand staring at each other with frowns on their faces. “Cecilia, I don’t see how using me is proving anything. This seems like something a Malfoy would do.”

“It’s more a Slytherin thing than a Malfoy thing,” Cecilia noted. Her voiced sounded detached as she found herself getting ready for a fight.

Fred stepped back letting their arms fall. “It’s still a shit thing to do Cecilia.” He ran a hand through his long hair pull gently at the ends in frustration. His eyes danced over her face searching for something, she just wasn’t sure what. After a few moments, he added, “I’ve changed my mind, you’re exactly like the rest of your family.”

Fred turned to walk away, but then turned back to give his last thought. “And next time you decide to use a guy, make sure he knows about it, so he doesn’t get the wrong idea.” Then he turned on his heel and walked away this time, towards the exit of the Great Hall. Cecilia stood in the dancefloor frozen from his words.

All she had been trying to do was prove to everyone around her she wasn’t like her family. Everyone who just assumed she was because of who her uncle was. In the end, she only proved to someone who believed she wasn’t like her family that she was.

She saw George follow Fred out of the hall. Just as he turned the corner, she saw him throw a glare her way before disappearing. A small part of her wanted to go after Fred and explain herself to him until he understood exactly where she was coming from, but the rest of her knew better.

All her energy felt drained and she just wanted to be alone. She took a deep breath and made her way towards the exit as well. She didn’t walk too fast so she wouldn’t run into Fred and so she wouldn’t draw any more attention to herself. If people saw Fred storming off, she wondered what they thought would happen.

Just as she was outside of the doors, a hand grabbed her arm and forcefully turned her around. “What the fuck are you playing at?” Draco hissed.

Here it was, the confrontation she saw coming all this time. Except now, after her conversation with Fred, she didn’t have the energy to fight with him.

But Draco wasn’t letting it go.

“A _Weasley_!? Cecilia are you out of your mind. I thought we talked about you parading around with blood traitors!”

“You said Potter,” she answered half-heartedly. It ended up coming out sounding bored which only made Draco angrier.

“My bad, I thought _all_ blood traitors and Mudbloods were implied!” Draco’s loud voice was gathering the attention of the people around them and even a few people from inside the hall.

“You know what Draco,” Cecilia started to raise her voice to match his volume. “I don’t give a _shit_ about blood purity, okay? My mother didn’t give a shit about that, my father didn’t give a shit about that and I don’t give a shit about that. So, if you would excuse me, I’m busy turning into my parents while you turn into your father.”

Cecilia knew it was a low blow. There were a couple of things that were off limits when it came to Draco. Him turning into Lucius was his biggest fear and Cecilia knew that. But here she was throwing it back in his face to get him to shut up.

Draco opened his mouth and then closed it again. A moment later, his gaze turned hard. “Keep it up Cecilia and one day you’ll end up _exactly_ like your mother.” The minute the words left Draco’s mouth, Cecilia slapped him hard across the face.

“I guess having a prick for a brother runs in the Malfoy family.”

“I guess having a blood traitor for a sister runs in the family too.”

The two stared each other down before Cecilia brushed past him and walked away. She was very aware of the crowd they had attracted during the screaming match and she tried not to make eye contact with anyone as she passed.

She barely made it two corridors before she found a corner out of sight and leant against it. She felt silly as she started to cry. She was expecting this, a fight with Draco about this. She’d been mentally preparing all week for it.

But Fred’s words had struck her only moments before leaving her more vulnerable than before. Everyone thought she was exactly like her family and her family thought she was something less. 

She felt very alone; she wasn’t expecting to feel so alone.

“That was intense,” Harry said walking towards where she was standing.

Cecilia surprisingly let out a small laugh. “Yeah, well, Draco wasn’t too thrilled with my choice of date.”

Harry nodded understanding. She’d told him at the beginning of the school year that she couldn’t be caught dating a Weasley because Draco would have her head. She was right. “I was surprised actually, when I saw you with Fred. You knew exactly what how he would react Cecilia. Why did you do it?”

“Because I don’t want to be the person everyone thinks I am. Hermione told me that I perceive myself as a Malfoy, so everyone assumes I’m like Draco-”

“But you’re not,” Harry cut her off.

“But I’m not,” Cecilia confirmed. “I guess I just wanted everyone else to know that. So, I asked Fred to be my date to show everyone I’m not like my family and I’m not afraid to be seen associating with blood traitors.”

Harry was watching her nodding along like he understood. In a way I guess he did. Lots of people thought they knew who he was because he was the boy who lived. Truth was, he was a normal fourteen-year-old boy who constantly found himself in danger’s way.

“Anyways, Fred found out I was using him for my image, and he told me I’m exactly who everyone thinks I am. Then Draco and I had that fight and I’m just drained.” Cecilia paused waiting for Harry to say something. He stayed silent so Cecilia kept talking. “The worst part was, I was prepared for this. I knew how Draco would react and that he’d tell Lucius and my family would turn against me, I just didn’t expect to feel sad about it.”

“They’re not good people, but they’re still your family.”

“Exactly…or they were my family. I don’t think they’ll want much to do with me now.”

“Well,” Harry said awkwardly rocking back and forth on his feet. “I don’t have much of a family either. Sirius is the closest thing I’ve got. So, if you need family, I’m here for you.”

Cecilia found herself smiling a bit. “I’d like that, thanks.”

Harry stepped forward and gave Cecilia an awkward hug. The gesture made her laugh again; Harry’s ears turned pink in embarrassment. Then he bid Cecilia a goodnight and let her be.

Cecilia still felt sad and lonely, but she appreciated the fact that someone knew who she actually was, and they liked her enough to consider her family.


	10. The Discarded Malfoy

The first letter arrived five days after the Yule Ball. Cecilia was surprised it took Lucius that long to find out about what had happened and then write to her. She wasn’t surprised with what Lucius said in the letter. She was expecting the message he sent to her, she wasn’t however expecting him to deliver it like he did.

_Cecilia,_

_Draco has informed me of your incident that took place Christmas night. I wish I could say I was surprised you have decided to associate yourself with blood traitors and even Mudbloods. That being said Malfoys do not and can not under any circumstance associate with witches or wizards of this type._

_I must not have said this enough to you growing up, but I am saying to you now. Purity Will Always Conquer and your blood is pure and untainted by Muggles or traitors._

_You have a week to fix your mistake or else I will have to take other measures to get through to you._

_Happy Holidays,_

_Lucius Malfoy_

Cecilia stared at the Happy Holidays at the bottom and thought back to last Christmas when Lucius sent her back to school after she backtalked him at the dinner table. She expected more threats, more anger, more anything. But this was an order wrapped up in the nicest words Lucius could muster up.

Something was terribly wrong.

But Cecilia had a choice. She could either focus her energy on figuring out what was going on with Lucius, someone who didn’t care for her and who she didn’t care for either, or she could spend her energy trying to fix the mess she had unknowingly created with Fred.

She chose the latter.

She thought giving him his space might help, so when Cecilia finally did approached Fred, it was almost a week later. Since most of the students stayed at the castle for the holidays, they were all welcoming the new year together.

Most of the older students were planning individual house parties to throw in their common rooms the night of the thirty-first. Cecilia had heard Selina whispering about it to Viola and she assumed everyone in the house was invited yet she still had a sneaking suspicion she wasn’t welcome.

Even though the girls seemed to be warming up to her while they got ready for the Yule Ball, after they saw who her date was and what happened with Draco, they were back at the beginning. Cecilia was just the fourth girl in their dorm that they always ignored.

She understood really. Though Draco was younger than them, he had a powerful father which meant he had pull in their house. Everyone assumed Cecilia was on the outs with the entire Malfoy family after her show with Draco and so everyone in the house was avoiding her like the plague as if Draco had commanded them to do so.

It was worse than before.

Cecilia thought her little stunt would help her situation; never did she think it would backfire this bad. She had always been the outcast before, but that was before people knew her. Now they _knew_ where she stood with blood traitors and Mudbloods and that didn’t sit well with her own house.

The other houses were better about it. They no longer looked at Cecilia with fear or judgemental faces. Instead, a few girls from her year even smiled at her when she would pass them in the hall or when she was at the library.

Of course, the Durmstrang and Beauxbatons students were completely unaffected. They didn’t know her before, and they still didn’t know her now. She was still intimidated with the Durmstrang boys, but they were the only people willing to sit with her at the Slytherin table during meals, so she coped.

A part of her wanted to sit at the Gryffindor table with Harry who seemed like her only friend at the moment, but the other part knew that a lot of the Gryffindors were Weasleys and they weren’t happy about the stunt she pulled with Fred.

All the more reason to fix things with him.

Cecilia wasn’t sure how to go about her apology. She wanted to explain herself over and over again until Fred finally got her point of view and understood why she felt she had to do it. Even though she already tried the night of, and he didn't listen, she thought it was worth the chance. There was no way she could screw anything up more than she already had.

Her biggest problem was finding a way to get Fred on his own without his twin so that they could have the conversation. The morning of the thirty-first, at breakfast, Cecilia kept watch of the Gryffindor table praying to Merlin that by some miracle, Fred would leave without George. She didn’t realize how obvious she was being, until Harry caught her attention from the very table she was staring at and gestured for her to meet him outside the hall. Cecilia sighed and pushed her uneaten breakfast away from her as she stood from her seat and followed Harry out of the hall.

“Any reason you’re staring at Fred?” he asked once they were safely away from everyone.

Cecilia sighed again. “I need to talk to him. I want to apologize and explain myself for what happened.”

Harry nodded, a lengthy pause, then he broke the silence. “I can help. You just need to get him alone, yeah?”

“Yeah.”

“Give me five minutes, go wait on the third floor near the Charms classroom.”

Cecilia agreed and left to go to the spot. She only had to three minutes once she arrived before the sound of footsteps drew closer.

“You’re not Fleur, that little twat lied to me!” Fred commented as Cecilia pushed off the wall she was leaning on to meet him half way.

“I asked him to, I need to talk to you.”

“I don’t want to talk.”

“That’s perfect, I just need you to listen.”

Fred lifted his hands to his face and ran them over it. He made a sound in frustration then quickly dropped his hands and gestured his arms outwards indication she had the floor to speak.

“I wanted to apologize Fred. I really am sorry that I made you feel used at the Yule Ball.”

“But you’re not sorry that you used me?”

“Just, listen okay? I grew up in a house that was full of prejudices for anyone who wasn’t like us. I never believed in any of it and there were some people who knew that about me. But not everyone did. I was always under the impression people avoided me because of my father, but then Hermione helped me see that I was the problem the entire time and people avoided me because of who I was making myself out to be.”

Cecilia paused waiting to see if Fred was going to say something. When he didn’t and continued to stand rigidly in front of her with his arms crossed, she kept going.

“I wanted to show people that I wasn’t actually like my family and I didn’t have the same beliefs that they did. So, in the spur of the moment, I decided that making a public appearance with someone I shouldn’t technically be seen with would definitely do the trick. I was so prepared in worrying about how my family would react and convincing myself this was something I needed to do that I didn’t even think about how it would make you feel and I’m sorry.”

Fred was quiet for a few moments and Cecilia wondered if he was registering her apology or if he was getting ready with his rebuttal. He opened his mouth a few times then shut it quickly deciding against whatever he was going to say. When he finally did answer, it wasn’t what she expected.

“Are you finished?” Fred asked her. When Cecilia nodded, he added, “fine. Apology not accepted.”

“What!?”

Fred shrugged. “You heard me.”

In a matter of seconds, Cecilia’s mood shifted from apologetic to annoyed and angry. She stood up straighter and took all the emotions and frustration she had been building up for the past week and let it all out on Fred.

“Sorry if I hurt your bloody feelings Weasley, the least you could do is accept my apology and try acting civil.”

“The least I can do? Cecilia are you listening to yourself? You _used_ me because you were so worried about your bloody image, which for the record is extremely superficial and a typical Malfoy thing to do!”

“You try being judged by everyone based on who your family is!”

“I AM! I’m a Weasley and you of all people know how your type regards my family! If you had stopped being so fucking selfish and opened your eyes, you would've seen you weren’t alone!”

His words shocked her because he was right. Not only was he right about the family prejudices, but he was right about her acting selfish. Her anger simmered out and she was left feeling embarrassed. She wanted to apologize, and she did indeed manage to make things worse and make herself feel worse in the process.

Fred must’ve sensed her backing down because he dropped his volume and voiced his final thought. “George overheard you that night, talking to Blaise. He said that you said something about acting with your own best interest in mind. Is this what you wanted Cecilia? You always tell me to piss off, well now I’m pissed off and I will certainly leave you alone from now on.”

Leaving his words in the air, Fred turned on his heel and marched off angry. Cecilia stood in the middle of the corridor watching him leave. Once his body turned the corner and she was certain her was gone, Cecilia let her body drop to the floor. She crawled over to sit against a wall and dropped her head into her knees. The moment she did, Cecilia felt the first tears she’d cried since the night of the Yule Ball fall.

If Cecilia was ever called nasty things, it was from Lucius. And while that hurt, it didn’t hurt like it did coming from Fred. Fred who always had a smile on his face, Fred who never left her alone even when she begged him to and Fred who she’d been told multiple times fancied her.

If she thought it wasn’t true before, she was certain it wasn’t now.

Cecilia let her pity party last ten more minutes before she stood up and attempted to collect herself. She was left lost with nowhere to go, so she decided to retreat back into her dorm room for the day. Her OWL examinations where coming up in June, so now was as good as time as any to throw herself into her studies to just forget about everything else.

She cycled through Potions, Herbology and History of Magic before it was dinner time. She ate quickly at the end of her table ignoring the party chatter surrounding her. When she finished, she retreated back to her dorm room and picked up on her History reading until her three dorm mates joined her in their room to get ready for the party.

Cecilia had her curtains pulled shut around her bed when they entered hoping to block out some of the noise they were creating so she could continue studying. But even though they were whispering, it was just loud enough that Cecilia couldn’t focus on her book, so she tried to focus what they were saying instead. When she heard her name and realized they were talking about her, she wondered if they were aware she was sitting in the room or if they just didn’t care what she heard.

“Someone said they saw them screaming at each other today,” Viola said quietly. They were talking about Fred too then.

Selina scoffed and adding her thoughts. “That’s what they both get for that stunt. Fred must’ve known Cecilia wouldn’t just go with him without an ulterior motive.”

“I don’t understand why she’d ruin her reputation like that?”

“I’ll say what I’ve been saying since last year. Those Blacks are mentally unstable. I mean, have you heard the stories about her father? No wonder she’s acting out like this.”

The conversation changed shortly after to Selina and the Durmstrang boy she was currently seeing since Christmas and Cecilia was grateful for it. She didn’t think she could listen to them talk about her, Fred or Sirius any longer.

A few minutes before ten, the girls left to go join the party leaving Cecilia alone again. She tried to pick up reading where she left off, but now her mind was too full. She couldn’t concentrate on the Giant Wars when her own brain was a gigantic mess.

Instead, she laid on her back staring at her canopy and letting her thoughts run wild. Cecilia didn’t think of singular thing, instead she thought of everything all at once. She didn’t cry again; she didn’t feel any emotion actually. She simply felt empty inside.

The music from the common room floated up into her room and through her curtains. She tried focusing on that to distract her. Eventually, as the clock was nearing eleven, Cecilia picked herself up from off her bed and let her legs carry her down the stairs.

She peaked around the corner and got a full view of the common room. It was packed. There were students from year four and up plus most of the Durmstrang boys who had joined them for the celebration.

Cecilia found Draco in a corner smiling with Pansy on his hip. Blaise was near them with a drink in his hand looking bored. His eyes kept roaming the room back and forth as if they couldn’t stay in one place too long. The only time they stopped was when they landed on Cecilia at the stairs. He didn’t react, he simply stared at her before forcing his eyes to move once more.

Her eyes moved as well landing on a table that was near the entrance to the common room. On the table there was drinks and food piled high. Cecilia spotted a half empty bottle of Firewhiskey she was certain no one would miss if she snagged it and made her escape.

Once she had successfully left without anyone noticing her presence, save for Blaise, with the bottle in her hand, Cecilia started making her way towards the Astronomy Tower praying it was empty and she could be alone in silence. When she got there, and double checked the coast was clear, Cecilia sat down against a wall and took a large swig from her bottle. The drink burned down her throat, but she didn’t mind.

She didn’t know what time it was. It could have turned into the new year without her even realising it. Cecilia just drank and tried to think about a better time when her life wasn’t completely in ruins. She settled on her first year at Hogwarts. It was the only time she was successfully away from the Malfoys. Even though she was just a lonely shy eleven-year-old then, it still was better than anything that came before, and it was certainly better than everything that came after.

The only good thing that came from the last few years was meeting Sirius and they didn’t have a proper father-daughter relationship since he was still on the run. 

Cecilia wondered if this was the life her mother expected for her when she gave birth to her almost sixteen years ago. Did Stella Malfoy anticipate that her daughter would have to grow up with the Malfoys and not her own parents, did she think Cecilia would get the choice to be friends with who she wanted without judgement, did she think that on the thirty-first of December 1994, Cecilia would be drinking alone on the Astronomy Tower?

Cecilia assumed she didn’t, no parent would want a life like that for their child. Yet here she was in that exact situation. “I’m sorry for screwing my life up so bad mum,” she whispered up to the sky as if Stella were there watching down on her. “I know this probably isn’t what you imagined for me, but I don’t know how to fix anything without making it worse.”

Cecilia went quiet then realized she wasn’t going to get a response. That made her bark out a laugh that made her sound sort of mental. “Is this what life was like for you? Did you struggle this much? Did you-”

“Do you always talk to yourself like a madman?” a voice cut Cecilia off.

Cecilia whipped her down to the side to see Blaise standing against the wall across from her. “What are you doing here?”

“I saw you grab a bottle of Firewhiskey and I wanted to make sure you weren’t about to do something stupid.”

“Like getting drunk on the Astronomy Tower and talk to my dead mother?”

Blaise was nodding. “Yeah, something like that.”

Cecilia took another swig then handed the bottle to Blaise who took it, drank, then passed it back. They let a silence fall between them that wasn’t awkward, it was comfortable. Cecilia didn’t know if she should break the silence or if she should just keep her mouth shut for once.

Blaise had other ideas and broke the silence for her. “Why did you do it? I know you said it was for your own benefit, but I have eyes, I can see you’re miserable.”

Cecilia watched him looking for sarcasm or something to give her a reason not to tell the truth. She was greeted with Blaise’s concerned brown eyes. She concluded that she had nothing to lose with telling him the truth, so she did.

“I didn’t want to end up like Draco, or who Lucius is making Draco out to be. I’m not like him; I don’t care about the blood purity stuff and I realized that people probably thought that I did. She I tried to prove them wrong, but while doing that, I proved the people who already knew who I was wrong instead and showed them my manipulative, selfish Slytherin side.”

“I didn’t know you hated Draco,” Blaise commented picking out information from her confession.

“I don’t hate Draco,” Cecilia explained. “I just don’t think the same things he does, and I don’t want to end up like him.” Cecilia paused and then forced a sarcastic laugh. “Though I guess at least Draco has friends.”

Blaise rolled his eyes. “You have friends too. They’re the wrong sort and I kind of hate them all, but they’re still your friends.”

“Hmph.”

Another long pause filled the air.

“Why aren’t you acting like you hate me?” Cecilia asked. “You’re supposed to hate me.”

“Because you’ve always been one of the only people I didn’t hate, even now when I should hate you, I don’t,” Blaise answered honestly. Then he added, “don’t tell Draco.”

“Your secret is safe with me, don’t worry.”

Cecilia held the bottle out to Blaise again and he joined her on the floor where they shared the last of the Firewhiskey between them. They didn’t talk anymore after that; they didn’t need to. Cecilia was somewhat glad that Blaise didn’t hate her, he was an unlikely ally.

The next time Blaise spoke, it was after he checked his watch. “It’s five minutes to midnight.”

“Don’t you dare try to kiss me,” Cecilia slurred out. Blaise surprised her with a hearty laugh that bounced off the walls of the tower.

“I wouldn’t dare to. Happy New Year Black.”

“Happy New Year Zabini.”

And then 1995 began.

…..

_Cecilia,_

_It has been a week and I have been notified that nothing has changed. I realize now that I may not have made myself clear enough in my last letter. You **will** stop associating yourself with Mudbloods and blood traitors immediately or else._

_Have I ever told you the story of how your father got kicked out of his family? It’s really good actually, though at least he had friends who took him in. It was the Potters, I think. If history repeats itself, do you think you can go running to Harry Potter for help. If I’ve heard correctly, it’ll be a miracle if he survives till the end of the school year._

_Your choice. Choose wisely because once you do, you can’t go back on your decision._

_Lucius Malfoy_

…..

_Cecilia_

_This is my last warning._

_I took you in as a child because you had no one else. Your mother was dead, your father was in prison, so it was us or an orphanage. You should be grateful I didn’t want to waste your pure-blood potential by giving you away._

_I regret my decision._

_If you ever cared about your aunt, you should know she is deeply distressed with this situation. She cared for you when you had no one and this is how you repay her?_

_You have one more week to get your act together. I won’t hesitate to gift you the same fate as your no-good piece of shit traitor father._

_Lucius Malfoy_

…..

_Cecilia_

_Don’t bother returning home this summer or ever again._

_You’re now branded as a blood traitor._

_This being said, you are no longer apart of or associated with the Malfoy family._

_Lucius Malfoy_

…..

The last letter she ever received from Lucius Malfoy came a month after the first one. It was the end of January when she officially disowned from her family.

The first thing she wanted to do was write to Sirius and tell him everything and ask him about what Lucius meant, but he still hadn’t responded to the letter she sent him after Christmas a month ago. She was worried something happened to him or he was in a compromising situation and she didn’t want to make things worse for him if he was, so she didn’t send him anything else.

The other person she wanted to talk to about her situation was Harry, but he was busy preparing for the second task that was in three weeks with Hermione. Cecilia knew that was a lot more important than her family drama.

So, she kept it to herself and let herself suffer in silence.

She briefly wondered if she could talk to Blaise about it, but she realized they weren’t that type of friends. She was just glad that there was at least one Slytherin who didn’t hate her, and she didn’t want to push it by complaining about the Malfoys, especially since she knew that Blaise was still one of Draco’s best mates.

Then there was Draco. Draco who had been ignoring her for a month straight, Draco who was her cousin, who she grew up with, Draco who she considered as a brother. Now he was basically a stranger. Sure, they were cousins by blood, but that was it. They had no family ties; they had no reason to talk to one another or even look the others way.

Cecilia wondered if he knew. Lucius had to have told him. Her former uncle had clearly stated she was no longer associated with the Malfoys, he would have had to write to Draco telling him not to associate with her anymore. Not that he was having troubles with that.

By mid-February, Cecilia was a mess. She was constantly moody, she spent her days mostly alone studying or sulking, and she still hadn’t heard from her father.

Whenever Harry brought up her sour mood, Cecilia always gave him the vague answer of family problems. It always seemed to be enough, because Harry never asked any more questions after that. Part of it defiantly had to be because he had enough on his mind as is. The second task was in a week, and he still didn’t know how he was going to stay underwater for an entire hour.

The days were speeding up and the school was buzzing with the same anticipation as it was for the first task. Cecilia still hated the idea of the tournament and how it dangerous it was, though right now her mind was too busy worry about what she was going to do when it was all over.

Worrying about the summer was something she often did alone at night when she was tucked into bed in the privacy of her curtains. It kept her up most nights and the lack of sleep wasn’t helping with her declining mood. Lucius made a point in his second letter, where would she go? She didn’t have friends who would take her in no question. The closest friend she had was Harry and that wasn’t an option. Not even he was invited to stay in his own home, it was a forced situation.

Sometimes Cecilia made a plan with what savings she assumed she had in her vault at Gringotts. Then she had to remember that there was a high possibility that vault was empty. She knew whatever money was in there was her mother’s, but it also was Malfoy money, a family she was no longer a part of.

The days leading up to the second task, her mind was stretched every which way. She wanted to help Harry figure out his underwater breathing problem, but she always found her mind wandering or she would even fall asleep.

The night before the task, Cecilia was sitting with Harry and Hermione with books stacked all over their table and a book in front of each person. Cecilia was using hers as a pillow as she snored softly into the pictures of a Transfiguration book. The stuff in there was much too advanced for Harry and even put Cecilia asleep trying to wrap her head around its contents.

“Cecilia,” Hermione whispered shaking her shoulder lightly. “Cecilia, you should head to bed. We can take it from here.”

Cecilia lifted her head and opened her eyes. They were blurry and she could just make out a concerned looking Harry watching her from across the table. “But I want to help,” she mumbled out.

“Go to bed Cecilia,” Harry encouraged. “We’ll be fine.”

Cecilia agreed after that. “Good luck tomorrow Harry,” she said wrapped her arms around his shoulders. She squeezed him tightly for a few seconds before letting him go and sleepily walking out of the library.

As she was making her way down to the dungeons, she came across two people whispered in the hall. She looked up when she recognized the voices and watched as Fred and George were bent over, heads together whispering.

Cecilia scuffed her shoes notifying her presence as she tried to quickly pass them. Just as she was about to, she lifted her head and regretted it. She was greeted with George’s hard glare and Fred’s brown eyes. She couldn’t read the emotion in them, they looked almost sad if anything. Cecilia quickly dropped her head back down and scurried past them. She didn’t look up again until she was safely in her dorm room.

When she closed her eyes to sleep, she was greeted with the image of Fred’s sad eyes reminding her just how messed up her life was.

…..

The morning of the second task, Cecilia felt like she was going to throw up. She prayed to Merlin that Hermione or Harry had come up with a solution after she’d gone to bed last night. She didn’t even want to think about what would happen if they didn’t.

Cecilia couldn’t find Harry or Hermione at the Gryffindor table that morning. Even Ron was missing. She wondered if they were all together doing some last-minute research before the task started in an hour. Cecilia wondered if she should go look for them in the library to see if she could help but decided against it when Dumbledore announced the boats to get to the second task were starting to shuttle students over already.

Cecilia followed a group of Beauxbatons students over to the boats. Just as she was about to get on one, she caught sight of Harry frantically moving his way towards her. “Have you seen Ron or Hermione?” he asked Cecilia once he reached her.

“No, I thought they were with you,” she replied looking around over Harry’s shoulder for his friends.

Harry’s eyes widened. “I think something’s wrong; Hermione was called to Dumbledore’s office last night while we were researching, and I haven’t seen her since!”

Cecilia could sense the panic rising in Harry, so she did her best to calm him down. “Do you know how you’re going to breathe underwater for an hour?” Harry nodded. “Okay, you focus on the task and I’ll find Ron and Hermione.”

Harry agreed and got onto one of the boats towards the second task. Cecilia turned away from him and climbed the hill towards the castle wondering if Ron or Hermione were still there. As she walked, she scanned each face she passed, but she couldn’t find the duo anywhere.

Cecilia realized she was running out of time before the task started, so she made her way back down to the boats and got on one hoping that Ron and Hermione were already in the stands. When she got there, she looked around for them everywhere, but Cecilia had no idea where they were.

She looked down towards Harry who was standing with the other champions. When he looked up at her, Cecilia just shrugged her shoulders and shook her head. His face grew even more worried and she felt bad that she couldn’t help ease his nerves by simply finding out where his best friends were. It didn’t make sense that they wouldn’t be here to cheer Harry on.

Ludo Bagman cut off the voices announcing the second task and the rules. Cecilia grew anxious watching Harry fidget with something in his hands down near the edge of the lake. She didn’t even think to ask _what_ he had come up with in the end, but she hoped it would work.

Once Bagman was done his little speech, a sound went off indicating the beginning of their given hour. Harry shoved something into his mouth then dove down into the lake. Then, him and the rest of the champions were gone.

“This is boring, we can’t see anything,” Cecilia heard a Beauxbaton girl say beside her.

And it was. Cecilia was resting on her elbows which were propped up on the railing in front of her. There were people talking all around her trying to keep entertained while the water in front of them stayed still. No one wanted to leave in case something happened, but nothing did happen for the first thirty minutes of the task.

Every once in a while, Cecilia would look around for Ron or Hermione, but she couldn’t see them anywhere. Just as she was about to do her fourth check for the pair, a noise came from beside her and everyone was looking at the lake.

When Cecilia looked down, the Beauxbaton champion, Fleur, had surfaced and was flailing around calling for help. Near the lake, people were reaching out to pull her in. There were whispers all around wondering what had happened down in the lake to make the girl look so distressed.

It took three minutes before a loud voice surrounded them. “Miss Delacour was unable to finish her task. The three other champions have just under thirty minutes to complete their task.”

Cecilia leaned even further onto her elbows. “C’mon Harry,” she mumbled under her breath.

Twenty minutes later, there was movement close to the surface of the lake. Cecilia squinted looking down at the water and watched as Cedric Diggory surfaced with a girl from Cecilia’s year. She gasped when she realized what the task was. The object they had to retrieve was a person!

Cecilia looked around once more for Ron and Hermione, she realized then exactly where they were. They had to be at the bottom of the lake.

Just as she had the thought, Victor Krum surfaced pulling Hermione up with him. Cecilia let out a large breath watching as Hermione took in a big gulp of air. They swam over to the edge of the lake where they were pulled out just like Fleur, Cedric and Cho were.

There was still no sign of Harry, however. She knew he probably had less than five minutes left and she didn’t want to know what would happen if he didn’t make it out in time. “C’mon Harry,” she mumbled again.

As the words left her mouth, two bodies surfaced from the lake. The problem was, neither of them were Harry. Cecilia caught sight of Ron and a little blond girl, but Harry was nowhere in sight.

Her eyes flickered down to see Hermione wrapped in a blanket desperately leaning forward trying to grab Ron from the water. Ron was pulling the young blond girl as he slowly paddled his way over to the platform above the lake. When he was pulled out, a blanket was wrapped around his body.

Second ticked by and each one felt longer than the last. Harry had just over a minute before the hour was up and the water of the lake was still. Three champions and four students stood wrapped in towels as everyone’s eyes were carefully watching the water, looking for any movement that Harry could be making.

Less than minute to go.

Thirty seconds passed.

Ten more passed.

Then, with an incredible force, Harry’s body rocketed up from the water, fiercely breaking its seal and landed onto the platform where everyone was waiting for him. The minute his body hit the wood, a dozen people swarmed him and started fussing over him. Multiple towels were wrapped around his body, Fleur was sobbing and thanking him profusely and Hermione was clinging carefully to his arm.

Cecilia watched from her place above on the stands. She let out a shaky breath she had been holding and forced her entire body to relax. Around her, Bagman’s voice boomed announcing the placement of the champions. Harry came in second since he saved not one, but two people.

The students were ushered back to the boats like sheep to return back to the castle. The chatter was deafening around her, but the same thought filled Cecilia’s brain over and over again. ‘Two down, one to go.’

…..

The morning of Hogsmeade, a week after the second task, Harry found Cecilia on her way to breakfast. “So, we’ll meet by the Black Lake at ten and walk down together, sound good?”

Cecilia tried sorting through her thoughts trying to remember if she had made plans with Harry to go to Hogsmeade and just forgot about them. Harry frowned at her puzzled face and continued with a quiet voice. “You know, to meet Sirius.”

“He’s in Hogsmeade!?” she yelled out, then quickly looked around to make sure no one had heard her.

“He wrote to me last week asking for us to meet him there and bring food, did I not tell you?”

“No,” she whispered back harshly. “I haven’t heard from him since December I was starting to get worried!”

“Shit, I’m sorry Cecilia, I swore I told you. Did you have plans today?”

Cecilia let out a sarcastic laugh, “with who?”

“Right, okay then, meet me by the Black Lake at ten.”

Cecilia agreed and they parted ways to their respective house tables. It was only nine thirty, so she had half an hour to eat then meet Harry. Cecilia still shoveled her food into her mouth quickly and then wrapped up some toast to bring to Sirius. Then she darted up to her room to grab her travelling cloak before making her way down to the Black Lake ten minutes early.

Shortly after, Harry was making his way towards her with Ron and Hermione trailing behind him. Cecilia watched as Ron scowled when they got close enough. He was obviously still angry at her for what happened two months ago.

“I see _she’ll_ be joining us,” he said looking at Harry.

“Of course, she is!” Hermione said looking at Ron with disbelief. “Sirius is her father!”

“Hmph.”

Ron turned away and started walking in the direction of Hogsmeade. Hermione jogged up ahead to catch up to him, probably to scold him for his behavior towards Cecilia. She was expecting it, so it didn’t bother her too much.

Harry stayed back slightly falling into step with Cecilia. Every so often, Harry would adjust the strap of his bag on is shoulder. “Is that for Sirius?” Cecilia ended up asking.

“Yeah, its food.” They walked quietly again. Once they were closer to the village, Harry spoke again. “Are you feeling better this week? Or are you still having your family problems.”

“Still having problems,” she answered rapidly hoping that he wouldn’t ask any more questions. Thankfully, Harry didn’t seem to want to bring it up anymore, so he let the subject drop as they entered the village.

Sirius told Harry to meet him at the other edge of the village, so they followed his instructions precisely. When they turned the last corner, they were greeted with a big black dog who was sitting patiently. It felt weird to think that this was only the second time she would be seeing her father in person. Between the letters sent back and forth and the fireplace conversation, Cecilia felt as if they'd known each other for longer than the eight months it had been.

“Hello Sirius,” Harry said bending over to pat him on the head. Padfoot’s tail was wagging with excitement. When Harry was done patting his head, he slipped past them to where Cecilia was standing. She mimicked Harry’s movement gently patting Padfoot’s matted hair.

Once he was finished greeting them, he turned and gestured with his head for them to follow him. Sirius led them towards a mountain where he began to climb, so the four of them followed and climbed up the mountain. It was a long climb to the top and Cecilia was out of breath towards the end. She blamed it on the fact she wasn’t training for Quidditch this year.

When they got to the top, Sirius slipped behind a boulder into what looked like a cave, so Cecilia, Harry, Ron and Hermione followed him until they were tucked out of sight from the world in a little cave that lay on the top of the mountain. Once they were all inside, Sirius turned back into his human form.

“Is that food?” he asked stepping towards Harry who was slipping his bag off his shoulders and passing it to Sirius. Cecilia grabbed the toast from her pocket and handed it over as well. Sirius thanked them both and dove into his food immediately.

“What are you doing here?” Harry asked taking a look around the cave.

“I wanted to be closer to you because of the tournament. How is that going?”

Harry sighed. “Awful.”

Sirius nodded understanding then took another bite of food. With his mouth half full, he asked, “and the Yule Ball, how was that?”

The air in the cave grew thick and Ron turned to glare at Cecilia. “Why don’t you ask your daughter how her night went?” he spit out. Sirius raised his eyebrows looking back and forth between Ron who looked ready for a fight and Cecilia who had closed her eyes and was breathing heavily trying to calm her emotions.

“Piss off Weasley,” she muttered.

“Cecilia?” Sirius asked.

When she didn’t answer her father, Ron pipped up again. “Well, you’re darling daughter decided she was going to-”

“I said piss off Weasley!” she yelled cutting Ron off. Ron clamped his mouth shut turning to Hermione who was also glaring at him. Cecilia continued to breath heavily trying to calm herself down. She didn’t need her father knowing what she did and Ron was this close to exposing her to Sirius for his own pleasure.

“What’s wrong with her?” Sirius asked leaning into Harry so Cecilia wouldn’t hear him ask.

“She’s having family problems. It’s put her in a mood for months now.”

“What happened?”

“She went to the ball with a blood traitor which triggered a screaming match between her and Draco and now Lucius keeps writing her about her loyalties.”

“Oh Cecilia,” Sirius said a little too loudly catching her attention.

“What?” she said in a clipped tone turning her attention from Ron to Sirius. Her breathing wasn’t helping her control her emotions, she felt them all bubble up the surface at once, the main one being anger.

“You have to be careful with Lucius, I thought I told you that.”

“I’m sorry _dad,_ I was getting sick of his stupid pure-blood ways. I thought you said mum didn’t believe in it either!”

“She didn’t,” Sirius said carefully approaching her. “But she was a lot more…discreet about it. Especially who she was surrounded with.”

“Right, how could I forget? Mum was a Death Eater, and she couldn’t tell Voldemort to shove his stupid beliefs up his ass.” Sirius’ eyes widened at her outburst and he hesitantly took a step back. Cecilia wasn’t sure where this was all coming from, but she continued voicing her thoughts. “Well guess what? Lucius isn’t Voldemort and I’m not afraid to tell him to shove his stupid pure-blood ideologies up his ass. Too bad he’s already got a stick there; I don’t know how it will all fit.”

“Cecilia!” Hermione gasped.

Harry, Ron and Hermione turned to Sirius who was still watching his daughter with wide eyes. Cecilia was staring right back, almost challenging him. After a moment, Sirius smirked. “You’re my daughter all right.” Cecilia rolled her eyes at the comment. “But please, for your own good, do not go repeating any of that to Lucius. If you haven’t noticed I’m currently living in a cave and won’t be able to provide for you when he kicks you out.”

“Too late,” Cecilia muttered under her breath.

“Huh,” Sirius said raising his eyebrows.

“I said sounds good dad. So, what did you drag us into a cave to say?” Cecilia asked quickly changing the subject and hoping he didn’t hear her.

No one seemed to notice Cecilia’s desperate move to divert the conversation away from her as they a sat around and listened to Harry and Sirius talk. Cecilia stayed quiet just listening to what they had to say. They were talking about Moody and Snape and a man named Barty Crouch Jr. As much as she wanted to understand and keep up with the conversation, Cecilia couldn’t. Instead, she resorted to just watching her father and Harry talk.

She felt a pang in her chest. This is how it was supposed to be, how it was always supposed to be. Maybe not in a cave with Sirius looking like a homeless madman, but they were supposed to be together as a family. If everything had just worked itself out last June, Cecilia would’ve had somewhere to go when Lucius kicked her out. Hell, she would have left before he even had gotten the chance.

Unfortunately, her life was just a bunch of worst-case scenarios strung together. She was surprised she’d hung on this long without it all going to shit.

Ron and Hermione had now joined the conversation as well and were adding their thoughts or asking questions. Cecilia stayed silent just listening to it all. They way Sirius talked about the past with a haunted look in his eye, the way he cringed when Azkaban was brought up, the way he ate every crumb left from the food they’d brought him.

That was going to be her. Living in a cave eating scraps because she had no place to go, haunted by the horrible life she had been given. At least Sirius was an Animagus and could turn into a dog. It was a lot easier to beg for scraps that way.

“Cecilia,” Sirius called out breaking her from her thoughts. The trio looked at her spaced out eyes as she blinked them back into reality.

“Huh?”

Sirius turned to Harry next, “I’ll walk you back to Hogsmeade in a moment, I just need a word alone with my daughter.”

Harry, Ron and Hermione left to go wait outside the entrance to the cave. When they were left alone, Sirius spoke again with a soft tone of voice. “Is everything okay?”

Cecilia tried collecting her thoughts and hiding away her pain, but before she could respond, she broke out in tears. Sirius wrapped his arms immediately around her and tried to calm her down through her sobs. He was gently running a soothing hand through her hair trying to help while whispering, “it’s okay my dear, it’s all going to be okay,” over and over again.

When Cecilia calmed down enough, she tried explaining. “I just feel like everything in my life has fallen apart and anytime I try to fix it I make it worse. On top of all that I’m having problems with the Malfoys because I don’t want to be like them, but if I’m not like them, my life is so much harder.”

Sirius was silent as she explained herself for what felt like the fiftieth time since it all happened. He pulled back to look at her face while she explained watching with his grey eyes full of concern. In a way she felt silly complaining about her problems while he was living in a cave off scrap food, but she had been meaning to talk to him about this for months and now was her first chance to do so.

When she was finished, Sirius took a few seconds to let her words process before he spoke again. “When I was your age, I was the same as you. I didn’t believe in my family’s beliefs and I acted out. Eventually it got to a point where I just left and it sucked, but I had friends who helped me through it. Do you have people who can help you?”

“I’ve got Harry and even Hermione I guess.”

Sirius frowned. “That’s it?”

“I’ve never really had proper friends.”

Sirius reached forward and pulled Cecilia into another hug. “Friends are as important as family and in some cases, they even become family.”

Cecilia nodded into his chest in to tell him she understood. Sirius kept hugging her for another minute before he placed a kiss on the top of her head and pulled away. “Let’s get you back to school, yeah?”

Harry, Ron and Hermione were waiting for them outside when Cecilia and Sirius in dog form emerged. Sirius led them back down the path towards Hogsmeade. When they were at the edge of the village, Harry, Ron and Hermione each bent down to pat Padfoot on the head.

When it was Cecilia’s turn, she dropped to her knees and wrapped her arms around the dog’s neck. She placed her cheek on his matted fur and whispered, “stay safe dad,” into his ear before pulling away and standing back up. Padfoot responded with a soft bark before he turned and ran in the opposite direction of the school.

Cecilia followed the trio back up to the school leaving a small distance between her and them. Up ahead she heard Ron say, “poor Snuffles, imagine having to live in a cave with only rats as your food.”

Cecilia looked up to the sky and laughed slightly. Poor Sirius and Cecilia Black, two members from the second wealthiest wizarding family in Great Britain, homeless and unwanted.


	11. The Final Task

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just a little heads up! I changed the rating on this story to Mature just because we're getting to the point of the story were a lot more darker things are going on like death and everything.

A typical birthday for Cecilia wasn’t anything special. Usually, she’d receive a gift from her aunt and uncle with a letter wishing her a happy birthday, Draco would gift her a handful of sweets he’d bought during a previous Hogsmeade trip and a couple of Slytherins who would witness the exchange would quietly wish her a happy birthday.

Cecilia’s sixteenth birthday was different. She received no letter, no gift and no sweets. No one bothered to wish her a happy birthday mostly because no one even knew it was her birthday.

On the tenth of April 1995, Cecilia went through her classes as usual and ignored any self-pity she felt about no one acknowledging her birthday. She didn’t particularly like her birthday, it had no significance other than the day her family recognizing her date of birth. No family, no birthday wishes, she should have known.

A strange thing did happen at lunch that day, however. While everyone knew that the post usually came at breakfast time, two owls swooped down as Cecilia was ladling soup into her bowl; one dropped a short note and the other a letter. The birds caught the attention of many students who were in the Great Hall at the same time for lunch.

Cecilia unfolded the note first to see four words written, _Astronomy Tower: ten o’clock._ She wasn’t sure who sent the note, but whoever it was had no care for the fact curfew was at ten and if they were caught out of bed, they would get detention.

After tucking the note into her robe pocket, Cecilia opened the letter next and saw her father’s neat writing. It wasn’t long, just a simple happy birthday, assuring her he was still okay, making sure she stuck with her friends and stayed safe. It was the usual message Sirius sent these days. Stay safe, stick together.

Thankfully after the second task and visiting her father, Cecilia found it a lot easier to be around the Gryffindor trio than before. Ron was still holding what little anger he had left for her, it annoyed Hermione and Harry, but Cecilia assured them she understood and that was that.

Although the Triwizard Tournament was an event that had taken over their year, Cecilia had certainly not forgotten about her OWLs and she found herself studying in the library with Hermione’s company more often than not.

When she asked the Gryffindor girl why she always joined Cecilia’s studying, she replied that it was nice to have a friend who cared about school. Cecilia didn’t have the heart to correct her and tell Hermione that she didn’t care for school as much as it seemed, and she was just using it as a distraction from her shitty life.

Now that she was disowned and wasn’t sure if she would receive her inheritance, Cecilia found herself wondering if she should start preparing for the future and worrying about jobs. She reasoned that if she was going to do anything useful to help herself, it was going to be getting as many OWLs as possible for when she eventually figured out what she was going to do after she graduated Hogwarts.

And of course, it was a wonderful distraction.

Anytime Cecilia felt her thoughts wander to Draco’s hard looks he constantly sent her way or the fact she had nowhere to go, she’d throw herself a little further into her Potions textbook or she’d practice her Charms a little harder. In the end, she was becoming a model student which wasn’t necessarily her intention, but it was a good thing.

Being the model student she was, she didn’t bother giving herself the day off on her birthday. The minute the final class of the day was finished, Cecilia lugged her heavy bag to a table in the corner of the library and let herself get lost in Herbology notes.

She followed her usual schedule. Study in the library after classes till dinner, sit alone sulking into her roast and potatoes before retreating to her dorm room and getting another hour or two of studying done before falling asleep and doing it all over again the next day.

That night was going to be different; she had a someone to meet at ten o’clock. Cecilia didn’t even give much thought to who would want to meet with her on the Astronomy Tower at night. It could be Harry since he easily could sneak around after curfew or less likely Draco unless his intention was to push her off the tower. It didn’t even bother her all that much that she didn’t know, she was just excited she was breaking her boring nightly routine.

The other girls in her dorm came in from the common room a half hour before Cecilia was set to sneak out. Selina and Viola, having reclaimed their bitchy duo title, were busy whispering behind one of the girl’s curtains and the third girl pull hers tightly shut too. Cecilia waited until there was only ten minutes until her meeting time before carefully pulling back her own curtains and leaving the dorm room.

The Slytherin common room was mostly filled with seventh year students who were bent over their textbooks preparing for their NEWTs in June just like the scattered fifth years were studying for their OWLs. No one noticed as Cecilia quietly slipped past them all and into the hallway.

The Marauders Map would’ve been an extremely useful tool at that moment. Instead, Cecilia was glancing in every which direction before moving quietly through the hallways. The walk to the Astronomy Tower was a lengthy one from the dungeons and Cecilia was glad when she finally climbed the last set of stairs leading her to a figure in the shadows waiting for her.

“Happy birthday blood traitor,” the voice called out.

Cecilia cringed slightly at the new title then stepped forward until she could see exactly who asked her to meet them. She smirked when she recognized them. “Is that Firewhiskey? Where on earth did you get it Zabini?”

“Nicked it from my place at Easter and I figured you needed it more than I do. Draco told me something very interesting today.” Cecilia froze and waited for Blaise to elaborate what he meant by that. Blaise raised his eyebrows at her, she was just standing there frozen in the shadows of the Astronomy Tower. “Is it true?” he asked quietly with a soft voice.

Cecilia forced herself to move forward and sit beside him just like they had months ago on New Year’s Eve. She snatched the bottle from him and took a big gulp before wiping her mouth with the back of her hand. She knew it was only a matter of time before someone figured out what she’d been hiding. It wasn’t all that surprising that Draco told Blaise, it wasn’t exactly a secret.

“If by it you mean Lucius disowning me, then yes.”

“Shit.” A pause. “Do you want to talk about it?”

Cecilia looked at Blaise carefully weighing her options. She was dying to talk to someone about it and everything that went with it, but this was Blaise. He believed in the things she didn’t, he was Draco’s best friend, he was a Slytherin and he hated the people Cecilia hung around these days.

She sighed and took another sip. “No offense Blaise, but you really wouldn’t understand. Plus, I can’t have you telling Draco about all the problems I’m having these days.”

“Look Cecilia, you’re obviously miserable, anyone with eyes can see that. It might help to get it all off your chest.” When Cecilia didn’t answer or make a move to start spilling her secrets, he continued. “It can be my birthday gift to you.”

“What can?” she asked narrowing her eyes at him.

Blaise just shrugged. “An unbiased ear. I’ll listen to you talk about anyone you want, and I won’t make comments about them being blood traitors or Mudbloods.” Cecilia frowned at Blaise’s casual use of the word, but he just ignored her. “And I promise I won’t tell Draco.”

It was a tempting offer. He already knew the worst of it, what more was explaining everything else. Blaise knew most of the story, the only thing he didn’t know was her ongoing fight with Fred and the fact she was extremely worried about her situation come the end of the school year.

Cecilia took another sip from the bottle Blaise brought before saying everything she’d kept inside for months.

“I saw it coming, I really did. I guess I just expected something more gradual, something over the course of a few years, not one month. At first Lucius really just wanted me to fix my mistake, then he started talking about how my father was supposedly kicked out of his family and how history was repeating itself, but the difference was that he had friends and I have nowhere to go.”

“Where are you going to go?” Blaise asked cutting of her rant. Cecilia had no answer, she just shrugged. “I guess you could probably stay with one of your new friends, huh?”

Cecilia tried to picture herself living with either Harry or Hermione and started laughing. They were really the only ‘new friends’ she had that Blaise was referencing and they both lived with Muggles. She didn’t have anything against Muggles but living with them was a step to far out of her comfort zone.

Blaise shot her a confused look at her laughing. Cecilia didn’t realize that he was serious and genuinely thought his idea was a good one. “Zabini could you really picture me living with Muggles?”

He took a moment and then smirked at the thought of her living amongst Muggles. “What about the Weasleys, sure they’re poor but at least they’re wizards.”

Cecilia looked down at the bottle in her hands at the mention of the Weasleys. She thought about why they didn’t like her, and she felt a twinge of shame about the whole situation. “The Weasleys and I aren’t exactly on speaking terms.”

“Really? You looked like you were getting awfully cozy with Fred Weasley at the ball,” Blaise commented.

Cecilia shrugged refusing to look up. “I used Fred Weasley to get what I wanted and here in blood traitor land, that’s a dishonorable thing to do. We fought and now he hates me, they all do, end of story.”

She took another swig of the burning liquor while Blaise collected his thoughts. With the little bit of alcohol in her system, Cecilia could feel her walls coming down and her emotions coming out. Normally she could hide what she was feeling or thinking behind a hard face, but even she knew Blaise could read her emotions like an open book.

“You seem pretty torn up about him hating you,” Blaise commented. She shrugged not able to give him an actual answer. “You liked him, didn’t you?”

Cecilia’s head snapped up at the comment and she came face to face with Blaise’s smug face. “Well, I don’t hate him! I feel bad about what I did to him, it was pretty horrible using him like that. He didn’t deserve it, he’s a good guy.”

“That’s not what I said Cecilia. You _liked_ him, didn’t you? I mean, you did ask him to the ball and you it didn’t look like you wanted to off yourself the entire night.”

“None of that means I fancy him Blaise.”

“He fancies you.”

“He used to.”

They were both silent after that, neither knew what to say. Cecilia almost forgot that they were discussing where she would go after the school year ended, and while Blaise was trying to help, he’d already exhausted all the brief ideas that had passed through her mind over the months.

“The point is,” she said trying to steer the conversation from one awkward situation to the other. “I have nowhere to go. I have no other family, I have no friends, I have no one but myself.”

There was silence again and Cecilia could practically hear Blaise thinking about what to say next. It was a downer thought, but it was the truth, and he knew it. There was nothing he could do for her now but watch her turn into a struggling blood traitor.

“I wish I could take you in. I would if it wasn’t-”

“Social suicide? I get it Zabini, you don’t have to explain.”

As much as she appreciated her only Slytherin friend, she also understood why he couldn’t take a blood traitor in. His family had the same belief hers did and Blaise did too, only he hid them while he was around her for the sake of just being her friend. It never once crossed her mind that the Zabinis were an option and it was mostly because it would be like going from the Malfoys to a slightly safer, slightly tamer version of the Malfoys. Not ideal at all.

“What about the other side of your family?” Blaise calming asked and Cecilia almost laughed thinking about the family she had on the Black side. A fugitive father and a handful of distant cousins; one in Azkaban, one wanting no connection to the Black family and the last was her aunt from the family she’d just been kicked out of.

“I’m going to pretend like you didn’t ask that,” Cecilia responded sarcastically. She felt bad for her rude tone, but the thought of her screwed up family, both sides, was almost too much in her buzzed state. “I appreciated you trying to help, but I’m simply a lost cause.”

Blaise smiled and shook his head slightly catching the small slur in her worlds. He grabbed the bottle from her and held it up. “To fucked up families and lost causes.” He took a drink and then handed the bottle back to Cecilia for her to drink to the same cause.

Talking about all her troubles and thoughts out loud helped ease her worries a bit knowing that at least one other person who sort of cared about her knew what she was going through. Cecilia had always been a private person keeping her worries and thoughts to herself, though before she didn’t have quite as many problems as she did now.

Now she had Harry and Blaise, each holding a different side of her secrets. Harry and Sirius; Blaise and the Malfoys. She knew one day, one of the two would know the full story, the full extent of her problems, but it was difficult trusting someone with every little part of you, every secret that made you who you are.

In the end, it was the one person who knew every secret and every struggle, but still cared for you that matter. And that person can come at an unexpected time in an unexpected form due to an unexpected event.

…..

Cecilia didn’t want Sirius to know about her situation with the Malfoys because it would add unnecessary stress to his already stressful life. She never planned on telling him or if she had to, it would be at the last moment possible. She never would have bet that Lucius Malfoy would be the bearer of bad news.

The letter was written in different handwriting than Sirius’ normal semi-neat writing. It looked as if the person writing it was rushing each word onto the parchment as fast as they could. If it were anyone else, Cecilia probably wouldn’t have been able to read it, but Sirius’ already neat handwriting made his messy writing still legible.

_Cecilia,_

_I was in Hogsmeade today and ran into your uncle and overheard a very interesting conversation about you. Is it true? Did the Malfoys disown you? What happened? Cecilia what were you thinking? Where are you going to go?_

_Listen to me closely, whatever you did, you need to take it back and do whatever you can to reverse the damage. The Malfoys are horrible and dangerous, but they provide you a place to stay, something I can’t give you. I can’t have you out in the world alone right now, especially not with all the changes._

_Please be careful and stay safe,_

_Padfoot_

Cecilia wanted to write back with a list of all the reasons she shouldn’t take back what she did and go back to the Malfoys, but she didn’t. Instead, she pocketed the letter and ignored it. She didn’t have a response for Sirius because she didn’t know where she would go, and it certainly wasn’t going to be back to the Malfoys.

The letter burned in her pocket the rest of the morning until she had finished her classes for the day and went to find her usual spot in the library. Once she was sure she was alone and Hermione wasn’t going to join her, Cecilia pulled out Sirius’ letter and read it over again.

The more she read the letter, the more she could feel her blood boiling. She couldn’t believe that Sirius wanted her to fix whatever happened. She understood that they were the only providing her a home, but Lucius was a Death Eater and she was sure that with all their recent activity, Sirius would want her out of the house rather than in.

Cecilia grabbed a piece of scrap parchment from her bag and started to write a response. Usually writing a letter wasn’t hard to do, but Cecilia was frustrated with the situation and confused as to why Sirius wasn’t supporting her decision. She stared at the blank parchment trying to form words and thoughts when she got so frustrated, she let out a frustrated cry that caught a few students attention around her.

At that moment, Hermione entered the library and noticed Cecilia sitting in her usual corner with a frown on her face. “What’s wrong Cece?” Hermione asked dropping her heavy book bag into the table and taking a seat across from her.

When Cecilia noticed Hermione’s presence, she tried sweeping the letter back into her pocket so Hermione wouldn’t see, not noticing when it missed and fell to the ground landing closer to the table behind her than her own chair. “Nothing just OWLs,” Cecilia grumbled out easily lying.

“You haven’t even got your books out yet,” Hermione pointed out eyeing someone behind her and then focusing back on the empty spot in front of her.

“Well, that’s the problem isn’t it?” she muttered and then grabbed her bag from the ground beside her. “I’m not in the mood to study Hermione, I’ll see you later.”

Hermione watched as Cecilia quickly pushed her way out of the library. Once she was in the hallway and alone, she stopped to calm herself before she put on her Slytherin mask and made her way down to the dungeons.

When she was certain that the emotions that Sirius’ letter brought out were carefully tucked away, Cecilia slowly started making her way to her dorm. She took her time being in no rush to spend more time with people who hated her. She was muttering charms under her breath when rushed footsteps echoed down the hall.

“Black!” Cecilia heard from behind her. She turned around quickly only to see Fred Weasley jogging to catch up with her, in his hand a piece a parchment. She recognized the smudges of dirt on the back caused by Sirius writing on the cave floor. She felt in her pockets quickly only to find they were empty and Fred Weasley did indeed have her letter from Sirius.

Cecilia stopped in her spot half dumbfounded that Fred was talking to her and half afraid that he had read the letter and knew its contents. He still hadn’t forgiven her or talked to her since their fight months ago, but the look on his face wasn’t anger nor was it closed off, it was full of curiosity and she knew immediately that wasn’t a good thing.

“How do you know Padfoot?” Fred asked slipping her back the piece of parchment the second he reached where she had been standing in the hallway.

“How do _you_ know Padfoot?” Cecilia asked snatching it back more harshly than she meant to breaking out of her paralyzed state. “Did you read my letter!?” It was harsh, her tone of voice wasn’t soft or friendly, it was hard and angry. She knew that she shouldn’t yell at him, not when they were technically at odds, but she couldn’t control the rush of fear that was hidden beneath her cold voice.

“He’s one of the legendary creators of the Marauders Map,” Fred said quickly and then dropped his voice. “I saw his name and got curious as to why Padfoot was writing to you.” Cecilia shot him a hard glare and he threw his hands up in defense. “Look _you_ dropped it in the library, and I was going to return it, but I saw the name and I had to know. I didn’t mean to find out that Malfoy-”

“No one knows about it and I’d like to keep it that way, okay?” Cecilia said quickly hoping that he wouldn’t start spreading it around. It was already a miracle Draco hadn’t gone blabbing to all his friends about it, the only one he did tell was Blaise which ended up being okay.

Fred nodded understanding and Cecilia expected him to walk away. Instead, she stuffed his hands in his pockets looking down at the ground. Cecilia should’ve walked away then, but she couldn’t. Her anger had simmered down, and she was mindful of the way Fred was standing. He looked bashful and guilty; she felt slightly guilty to for snapping at him like that.

“Where are you going to go? Can Padfoot help you out?” Fred asked finally.

Cecilia looked at him and snorted then without thinking answered. “You mean my criminal father on the run? No, he can’t help me.” Cecilia folded the letter back up and stuffed into the pocket of her robes. It wasn’t until she looked up at Fred’s shocked face that she realized her mistake.

Fred’s eyes wider than usual and his mouth hung open curving upwards a bit the ends. Cecilia completely forgot he didn’t know Sirius was Padfoot, when he used the name, Cecilia felt as if it were her and Harry talking with no secret fathers in the loop. Instead, she had just admitted to Fred that she was in contact with a wanted wizard and worse, Sirius mentioned he was in Hogsmeade.

“You weren’t kidding then. Last year at the end of the year, you said something about running around with a convicted murderer.”

“Shhh!” Cecilia frantically looked around the hallway to make sure no one was around to hear before grabbing Fred by elbow and dragging him into the closest open door she could find in the hallway.

Once they were alone, Cecilia let go of Fred’s elbow and faced him trying to explain last June’s events as quick as possible. “Look you can’t tell anyone Weasley, it’s important that no one knows that I’m in contact with my father or where he is. If anyone finds out, they’ll send the Dementors after him, they’ll give him the kiss, he’ll be…” Cecilia choked up at the thought of Sirius getting caught. She whispered the last part to finish her point. “He’ll be as a good as dead.”

“But Cecilia, he’s a murderer, twelve Muggles and his best friends!”

“He’s not, he’s innocent.” Fred’s face looked shocked again, so she rushed to explain herself. “We were all shocked to hear, but last June there was Lupin and my father and Pettigrew and then they explained how he was framed, and it was Ron’s rat’s fault who was actually Pettigrew-”

Fred put a and up to stop her. “You aren’t making sense.”

“Please just promise me you won’t tell anyone. I know it’s a lot to ask, especially since I know we’re not friends and you hate me, but if you tell someone…Fred he’s the only family I’ve got left.”

The room fell quiet as Fred let Cecilia’s words sink in. She watched his face carefully for any indication what he was going to do, if he was going to go tell someone about Sirius Black or if he would keep her second secret safe. Eventually his face softened and stepped closer so that she could hear his whisper.

“Did you know it was going to happen?” Cecilia furrowed her eyebrows. She didn’t understand what he meant, and she blinked a few times trying to figure it out before he clarified. “Did you know the Malfoys were going to kick you out for what happened?”

Cecilia flinched slightly at him bringing up the incident but answered honestly. “I knew it would come eventually. It’s not rare that someone in my family is disowned. My aunt’s sister was disowned for marrying a Muggle-born. Apparently, my father was kicked out as well, but I wasn’t told much about him when I was younger. The only thing I ever knew about him turned out to be a lie.”

They both stood there awkwardly, neither sure what to say. Cecilia still wasn’t sure whether or not Fred was going to spill her secrets and Fred looked surprised that Cecilia was opening up to him like this. The last time they had a conversation without sarcasm, without yelling was the Yule Ball.

“I don’t hate you.” Cecilia looked up at him and saw his brown eyes were soft and sympathetic. “You said earlier you thought I hated you, I don’t.”

“I wouldn’t blame if you did, what I did was horrible and I’m sorry.”

“Consider it forgiven.” Cecilia couldn’t hide the shock the crossed her face. “And I promise I won’t tell anyone about Sirius or the Malfoys.”

“Thank you,” she whispered dropping her head to the floor. When she looked up at him through her eyelashes, he was moving towards the door to leave.

“Oh, and Black?” Cecilia met his eye and he smirked. “My name sounds very alluring coming from your mouth.”

Cecilia’s mouth fell open. She’d always called him Weasley, never by his real name. The only time she had was when she apologized to make it sound more sincere, but he was so angry at the time he must not have caught it.

She felt a blush tint her cheeks as he laughed a little and left her alone in the classroom. Just like that Fred was back to his usual flirty self with Cecilia, but now she wasn’t prepared for it. No snarky comment came to mind, no sarcastic response or eye roll. 

It was a lot easier to deal with Fred’s shameless flirting when she thought she hated him. Now she had to deal with it as friends or whatever they were, and it was accompanied by a small pull in her stomach and a heated blush on her cheeks.

…..

The rest of Cecilia’s fifth year flew by and was principally spent focusing on her upcoming OWL examinations. When she wasn’t tucked neatly into a corner in the library, she was sitting in her dorm room with her curtains shut around her bed for some privacy.

While her days and nights were filled with packing her brain with as much knowledge as possible, it also occurred to Cecilia that June marked three important things that she was immensely worried about.

The first was her OWL examinations. Most students were studying for their future careers, but Cecilia had never really thought of her own. She grew up around women who were nothing more than ladies of the house and mothers. It never occurred to her that one day after Hogwarts, she should or could get a job. Of course, now it seemed almost mandatory given her situation which is the second thing she was worried about.

Once the school year was over, Cecilia had no place to go. She’d been asked by three people already what her plan was and where she was going to seek shelter and Cecilia honestly had no plans or ideas. She was praying that there was some money left in her bank account so that she could drain it on a room at the Leaky Cauldron.

The third was something she couldn’t control even a bit, and that was the third task in the Triwizard Tournament. The champions had been given a clue that the task was going to be a maze, but they knew nothing of the nature of said maze, only that it was probably going to be full of dark magic.

Just like during the second task, Cecilia mainly did her own studying in hopes of finding bits and pieces that might ultimately help Harry in the tournament. It was mostly whenever she was studying Defense Against the Dark Arts that she would come across a spell she’d try to teach to him hoping it might make a difference in the end.

No matter how much time they thought they had to help Harry prepare for the third task, it wasn’t nearly enough. Before Cecilia knew it, she had completed all her OWL examinations and only had two things left to worry about: the third task and her homelessness.

The day of the last task, the school was buzzing with an energy Cecilia had felt once before at the Quidditch World Cup. Everyone was betting on who would be the first out the maze or some were predicting what would be in the maze to challenge the wizards going in. Cecilia tried not to think of any of it, instead she kept close to Harry trying to encourage him the best as possible and calm his nerves.

There was an eerie feeling in the air when Cecilia took her spot in the stands. She was standing beside Hermione who had a bunch of Weasleys sitting beside her. Everyone was staring down at where the four champions were standing, right in front of the maze.

Cecilia couldn’t explain it, there was something about the maze, maybe the type of magic it was oozing, that left her feeling unsettled. She couldn’t shake the feeling that something was wrong, that something bad was going to happen in that maze. She shook it off and blamed it on the nerves she was feeling for Harry. Beside her, Cecilia could tell Hermione was thinking the same thing, it was all over her face.

Ludo Bagman’s voice carried over the stadium making it sound like he was speaking directly into everyone’s ears. Cecilia barely registered what he was saying, she was too focused on the scene in front of her.

Harry looked so small and vulnerable compared to the other three. He stood beside Professor Moody who was speaking lowly to him and Harry kept nodding at whatever their professor was saying. Cecilia hoped whatever it was, it would help him with what he was about to face in the maze.

Finally, Bagman was finished his speech and was counting down until Harry and Cedric could enter the maze. He counted down from three and then both boys ran straight into the maze. A few moment later, Viktor joined them and finally Fleur.

The task was a lot like the second one. Everyone in the stands just waiting for the champions to emerge since they couldn’t see anything that was going on inside. This time, Cecilia had Hermione next to her, so she wasn’t suffering in her worry alone.

Cecilia wasn’t sure how much time passed before the first of the red sparks lit up the air indicating that someone was in trouble and needed out. Hermione gasped and Cecilia knew they both had the same thought in the moment, was Harry in trouble?

It took an excruciating long time before someone had been retrieved from the maze. Fleur exited looking the worst Cecilia had ever seen her look, which was a lot given the fact she was a Veela. The sight made her stomach clench as she imagined just what was going on in that maze and how Harry was handling it.

After Fleur was out of the maze, there was another span of time where no one knew what was going on, but they had an idea that it was horrible given Fleur’s state. Cecilia was sure at least fifteen minutes had passed before a blue light reflected the dark night sky followed moments later by another set of red sparks.

Cecilia wondered what the blue light meant. There wasn’t a spell from a wand that could’ve made such a bright light. While she was lost in thought, thinking up every possibility about what was going on in there, Viktor was retrieved from the maze in a worse state than Fleur had been in. Even from her spot in the stands, Cecilia could see his eyes were slightly glossed over and he looked like he was having troubles just standing.

The tight feeling in Cecilia’s stomach returned and now she could see the worry was starting to affect everyone in the stands. There was movement down on the ground where the champions where. Fleur was being embrace by her Headmistress and Viktor was being talked to by both his Headmaster and Dumbledore. Cecilia noticed Ludo Bagman join the crowd down in the stands followed by Cornelius Fudge. The only person who didn’t look worried was Professor Moody who stood staring at the maze so Cecilia couldn’t see his face.

Soft chatter filled the stands while everyone tried to guess what was going on and why were the authority figures all looking so worried. Cecilia looked over to Hermione who was staring down with wide eyes that had the start of tears in their corners.

The stands got louder the longer the adults were huddled below them near the maze. Everyone had seemed to pick up that something was wrong, and everyone just wanted questions as to what was wrong. Harry and Cedric were still in the maze and Cecilia wondered if something happened in there and they were no longer safe. The minutes passed by slowly and there still wasn’t any sign of more red sparks or the two Hogwarts champions.

Then, after what felt like forever, the same blue light that they had saw reflected in the sky appeared before them followed by Harry, Cedric and the Goblet of Fire. Cecilia gasped and stood up leaning forward to see what was going on down below. The rest of the stands had the same idea, and everyone looked down at the scene before them: Harry clutching the Goblet in one hand the other was holding Cedric, Cedric who wasn’t moving.

In seconds, Dumbledore and Fudge crowded over Harry while Professor Moody hobbled over to them. Harry looked like he was crying, and Cecilia noticed there was blood running down his arm. She couldn’t hear what was going on, but she did hear a scream from the stands followed by Cedric’s name.

Cedric still hadn’t moved from his position on the ground and upon further inspection, Cecilia realized he wasn’t moving, wasn’t breathing, wasn’t living. There were screams and sobs as more and more students came upon the same realization that Cecilia had.

What happened next was a frenzy of events.

Half the students were rushing towards the grounds and the other half back to castle. The Professors were busy trying to the get the situation under control and shepherd everyone back into the school. Beside her, Hermione was running from the stands trying to get to Harry who, Cecilia just realized, was missing from the crowd at the bottom.

Cecilia wasn’t sure what to do. She was half wanting to go with Hermione and find Harry, but a part of her wanted to stay and she what happened to Cedric. She stayed as long as she could before she was being ushered away and back to the castle with the rest of the students.

She briefly registered the fact that she’d been lumped into a group of Beauxbatons students who were all speaking lowly in French about what they had all just witnessed. Cecilia wondered where Hermione was and scolded herself for not following after her in the first place.

Once back in the castle, Cecilia joined a group of students who were sitting in the Great Hall trying to process what just happened. Cecilia tried to piece it together herself as she took a seat at the edge of the Slytherin table.

The blue like that reflected in the maze was the same one that brought Harry and Cedric back. The only problem was that the time between the lights wasn’t instantaneous but separated by a period of time in which the adults started to get worried. Something must’ve went wrong resulting in Cedric Diggory’s death.

Cecilia didn’t know Cedric well, she only knew him because of Quidditch and the fact most of the girls at Hogwarts has crushes on the handsome Hufflepuff. Still, the feeling of seeing his dead body left her feeling strangely numb and prickly.

Time passed and Cecilia was no longer sure about how much timed had passed since she sat down. She watched as professors came in and out of the Great Hall comforting students and leading them back to their common for the night. Cecilia quickly realized she was the only Slytherin in the hall and she hoped that Snape wouldn’t come find her to bring her back to the dungeons.

After the hall was nearly empty, Cecilia decided that she should go find Harry and find out what happened in the maze that resulted in Cedric’s death. The Gryffindor Tower was a good place to start looking since she had no clue where Harry went after he was whisked away.

Cecilia slipped quietly from the halls hoping no one would catch her and send her back to her dorms before she had answers to the questions the nights events brought up. She was half way up the tower when she ran into Hermione who was just running down from the way she was heading.

“Oh Cecilia!” Hermione exclaimed running towards her. She looked frantic and her hair was bigger than ever.

“Hermione are you okay? I was just going to see Harry.”

Hermione took a moment to catch her breath before saying: “I was just about to come find you, Harry’s in the hospital wing and Sirius is there with him.”

The minute the words left Hermione’s mouth; Cecilia rushed down towards the hospital wing where Sirius was with Harry. She had no idea why Harry was in the hospital wing, but she wanted to make sure he was okay. That and the fact her father was there too, fueled her quickly movements across the castle. Cecilia didn’t even stop to think about the fact she hadn’t spoken to her father since he found out she’d been disowned, she just wanted to see him and Harry.

She could hear Hermione moving behind her, following her back to the hospital wing. Cecilia barely registered the group of wizards standing in front of the doors when she arrived, she simply squeezed her body through the crowd and into the hospital wing. Behind her, Hermione was apologizing for Cecilia’s actions to the adults arguing loudly.

The hospital wing was slightly crowded when Cecilia and Hermione entered. In a bed close to the center of the room, Harry was peacefully sleeping with a black dog laying at the end of it. Next to him sat Ron and two other gingers, Cecilia recognized one of them from the Quidditch Cup and from the stands but couldn’t remember who they were. The other an older lady Cecilia assumed was their mother.

When she entered the wing, Padfoot lifted his head from the bed. Once he’d spotted his daughter, Padfoot jumped off the bed and greeted her halfway between the bed and the door. Cecilia crouched down and wrapped her arms around the neck of the dog. “Hello father,” she whispered quietly so that only Hermione could hear as she was passing by to retake her seat next to Harry.

“What are you doing here?” Padfoot whimpered and turned his head towards where Harry was resting. “I see,” Cecilia whispered back and took a seat on an empty chair next to Hermione. Padfoot made his way back to the bed sitting in between Harry and Cecilia like a guard dog.

The minute they were settled, the doors to the hospital wing swung open and the Minister of Magic waltzed in followed by Professor McGonagall and Professor Snape. The Minister was demanding Dumbledore’s location and almost as if he were summoned, Dumbledore entered the ward creating a packed hospital wing.

Cecilia watched Padfoot tuck his head down at the sight of the Minister and she9 reached forward to pet his head to calm his down. He was risking it as is being at Hogwarts, never mind in the same room as the Minister of Magic.

The adults were arguing about how Fudge handled a situation with Barty Crouch and Cecilia was momentarily lost in the conversation since she didn’t have all the information they were arguing about. She tried to follow along as best as she could while trying to calm Padfoot down at the same time.

Suddenly a new voice cut into the discussion as Harry woke up and shouted his defense towards Fudge. Dumbledore and Harry were arguing with the Minister of Magic about the events that occurred that night, none of which anyone except Harry had been present for.

“Look I saw Voldemort come back!” Harry cried out trying to make his way across the room to where Dumbledore was standing off against the Fudge. Cecilia felt herself frozen at Harry’s statement. She hadn’t gotten any information since the end of the task when Cedric returned dead. Now she assumed Voldemort was the reason.

The increasing Death Eater activity since the summer now made sense. This must’ve been coming for a long time and Cecilia was now aware that if this year had panned out differently, she would’ve had to gone home to Malfoy Manor where she knew there was a Death Eater.

Harry was still yelling towards the Minister while Mrs Weasley pushed him back into bed, “I saw the Death Eaters! I can give you names if you want, like Malfoy!” Harry yelled and Cecilia visibly cringed.

Fudge shot a quick glance her way before muttering. “Dead.”

Padfoot, who Cecilia had successfully calmed down, snapped his head up and growled slightly. Harry nudged him with his foot to get him to stop before clarifying that he meant Lucius Malfoy. Fudge shot back that he was clear though everyone else in the room knew that was a lie.

Harry continued to rattle off names while Fudge continued to dismiss them all. All the names being called were parents and uncles of most of her own Slytherin house. Cecilia hung her head realizing just how dark everyone in her house’s families were, including her own. Cecilia wasn’t surprised Lucius was there, but she felt the shame all the same hearing someone she was related to was there.

“Voldemort has returned,” Dumbledore repeated again towards Fudge only causing the man to get even more upset and the arguing continued. It went on for several minutes, Dumbledore recommending ways to fight of Voldemort and the Minister ignoring all evidence that the Dark Lord was back.

Finally, after it was clear there was no talking sense into the Minister, Snape lifted his sleeve revealing the Dark Mark on his arm. The Mark looked alive almost, dark black and slithering beneath the skin of their Potions Professor. Cecilia got a good look at it and then tried to picture her mother with a matching Mark. She couldn’t.

When the Minister caught sight of the Dark Mark, he stopped arguing then presented Harry his prize money before leaving the hospital wing leaving everyone behind speechless. The silence hung over the air until Dumbledore was certain he wasn’t in hearing rang before giving out orders to those in the room.

First, he turned to Mrs Weasley asking for hers and her husband’s help. The older Weasley who sat next to his mum stood up leaving the room with his new orders. Next Dumbledore turned to Professor McGonagall giving her instructions and finally Madam Pomfrey.

Once it was only Dumbledore, Snape, Mrs Weasley, the four kids and a black dog left in the room, Dumbledore spoke to Sirius asking him to return to his usual form. Padfoot jumped off the bed before quickly turning back into a man. The moment he was back in his human form, there was a reaction from Mrs Weasley and Snape.

“Sirius Black!” Mrs Weasley shouted, and Ron went to his mother’s side trying to calm her down from the shock and Cecilia smirked slightly at the look of triumph that had taken over Sirius’ face.

“Him!” Snape spit out glaring at Sirius with a nasty look. “What is he doing here?”

“He’s here at my invitation, as are you Severus,” Dumbledore said looking between both men who were glaring at each other. “I expect you to lay aside your old differences and trust each other.” Neither Snape nor Sirius had moved their glare from one another. Dumbledore sighed. “You will shake hands; you are on the same side now. We need to stand united or there is no hope for us.”

Cecilia watched Sirius slowly move closer to Snape to quickly shake his hand before letting it drop a moment later. Dumbledore stepped between them and spoke to Sirius. “I need you to set off at once. Alert Remus Lupin, Arabella Figg, Mundungus Fletcher and the rest of the old crowd. Lie low at Lupin’s and I will contact you there.”

Harry went to protest but Sirius cut him off before he could. “You’ll see me very soon Harry, I promise you.” He held onto Harry’s hand and squeezed it tightly before letting go and turning to Cecilia. “A word outside?” he said and excused the two of them to talk in the entrance of the hospital wing.

Cecilia double checked the coast was clear before her and Sirius stepped out and into the empty hall of Hogwarts. Sirius rubbed his hands over his face before heavily sighing. “Cecilia you haven’t answered any of my letters.”

She looked down at the floor than back up towards her father. His face was sad, and he looked extremely worn down and beaten. “I’m sorry, I didn’t have an answer for you,” Cecilia whispered quietly.

“Do you have anywhere to go?”

Cecilia shook her head and Sirius sighed again.

“Oh Cecilia.”

“Would you rather I be at the Malfoys surrounded by Death Eaters and Voldemort!?” she shouted voicing the only thought she had about the situation.

“You’re right, okay? I don’t want you anywhere near there, but you need somewhere to go.”

“I was planning on praying to Merlin that I still have my inheritance so I could afford a room at the Leaky Cauldron,” she answered truthfully. It wasn’t a secure plan, but it was the only one Cecilia could come up with.

Sirius was quiet a few moments. His brows were furrowed, and he was moving his mouth almost as if he were speaking to himself. Cecilia waited until he finally spoke the words to her. “Remus will pick you up from King’s Cross and you’ll stay with me until we figure it out.”

“Are you sure Professor Lupin would be okay with that?”

“It’s temporary, I have an idea for you, but I don’t have time to figure out the details until after I’m at Remus’. I have to go now Cecilia, but I’ll see you soon.”

Cecilia nodded and stepped forward to wrap her arms around Sirius. He hugged her back whispering, “Love you Cece,” into her hair before pulling back and turning into Padfoot. Before she could even say goodbye back, Padfoot was running down the halls of Hogwarts and out of the doors.

Cecilia stood in the hall alone hugging her arms around herself trying to keep herself together. The nights events were slowly sinking in and she was just realizing what this meant. Voldemort was back, the Death Eaters were back, and Cecilia found herself on the other side of things.

If there was any bad time to become a blood traitor, it was now. Before, Voldemort was a mere threat, an old threat from years ago with half loyal followers. Now he was back and was probably going to continue where he left off: war. A war that killed her mother and got her father imprisoned.

In that dark hallway alone, Cecilia tried not to imagine what her fate would be at the end of this all. If it was anything like her parents, she was utterly doomed.


	12. Number 12 Grimmauld Place

The last days of the term were a blur. Before Cecilia knew it, she was squished into a compartment with Harry, Ron and Hermione waiting for Harry to start his story.

After the third task and the scandal with Alastor Moody, which Cecilia found out about the next day, she still hadn’t heard the story of what happened during the task and what happened to Cedric Diggory. Even though Dumbledore told the school it was indeed Voldemort who killed him, Cecilia already figured that part out for herself and she wanted to hear the full story of how Voldemort came back.

Harry had been recovering in the hospital wing and then preparing to go home for the summer, but he promised Cecilia the full story on the ride home. Now, seated beside Hermione and across from Harry, Cecilia was squirming in her seat waiting for the full story.

“Do you want the long story or the short story?” Harry asked rubbing his scar absent mindedly. Hermione and Ron both gave different answers, so Cecilia suggested he give them a medium length version of the night’s events.

“I ran into Cedric in the maze and we helped each other the last little way to the Goblet so when we got there, I suggested that we both take it, and both be winners. When we grabbed the Goblet, it was actually a portkey and it took us to this graveyard.”

Harry took a breath and closed his eyes. No one said anything as Harry prepared himself for the next part of the night. “We were both confused until we heard a hissed whisper, Voldemort’s voice, and he told Wormtail to kill the spare, so he killed Cedric.”

Cecilia grunted from her spot when Harry mentioned Peter Pettigrew. She couldn’t forget that man’s involvement in killing Harry’s parents and then framing her own father for it. He was the reason the Sirius went to jail an innocent man and he was also responsible for the murder of one of their classmates. Cecilia wasn’t a particularly violent person, but in that moment, she swore to herself that if she ever came across the rat again, he’d regret it.

“I realized then that the grave we were at was Voldemort’s father’s and then Wormtail tied me to the grave before starting the process. He took a bone from the grave; he cut my arm and took my blood then he cut off his own hand into this pot before dropping Voldemort’s body into it. When he stepped out, he was back to normal.

“After he was resurrected, Voldemort used Wormtail to call the rest of the Death Eaters. There were so many names I recognized: Crabbe, Goyle, Nott, even your uncle was there Cecilia.”

“I can’t say I’m surprised,” she whispered back looking down into her lap in shame.

“Then he just started talking. I was still tied to the grave and all I could do was listen while he told his story to the Death Eaters who were there. Once he was finished, he made Wormtail untie me so we could duel. He gave me my wand and then he casted the killing curse and I tried to disarm him so I could get out of there. That’s when the weird thing happened.”

Beside her, Hermione was leaning on the edge of her seat waiting for what happened next, wondering the same as Cecilia, how did Harry escape Voldemort and a bunch of Death Eaters?

“Voldemort kept telling everyone to leave me alone, that he would deal with me. Then these smoky figures started coming out from his wand, Dumbledore called it _Priori Incantatem._ They all told me to hold on until they caused a distraction so I could get back to the Goblet and back to Hogwarts.

“When they told me to go, their smoky figures blocked Voldemorts path and I ran towards the cup, grabbed Cedric’s body and got us both back to Hogwarts. Then ‘Moody’ took me upstairs to question me and he knew things that I didn’t and that’s when I figured out, he was Barty Crouch Jr. Dumbledore, McGonagall and Snape came in then and questioned him under Veritaserum. After that, I went to Dumbledore’s office, saw Sirius then down to the hospital wing.”

Cecilia, Ron and Hermione all stayed silent for minutes after Harry finished telling his story, none of them knew what to say. Finally, not knowing what else to say, Cecilia asked a question that had piqued her interest. “Did you see who the figures were?”

Harry looked up and visibly softened. “Yeah. It was Cedric, Bertha Jorkins, my parents and your mother Cecilia.”

A breath caught in her throat when Harry said this. She audibly gasped before whispering out, “you saw my mum?”

Harry smiled softly. “I thought it was you at first, you look so similar, but the hair gave it away.”

“The people you saw, they were the last people Voldemort killed with his wand,” Hermione said quietly looking at both Cecilia and Harry. “Do you know what happened the night your mother died Cecilia?”

Cecilia racked her brain for anything on the subject, but the only clues she had been what Sirius had said the night in the Shrieking Shack a year ago. “All I know was that she was a Death Eater, that she’s the one who figured out Peter had been the spy and she told my father, and that my uncle blames her death on Sirius.”

Hermione processed the information then responded, “whatever did happen, it was Voldemort’s wand that killed her.”

After that, Ron and Hermione continued questioning Harry about the night, and Cecilia just sat and listened. She had heard enough, Peter was the reason Cedric was dead, Voldemort was back, and Lucius was there for it all. That and her mother, or the ghost of her mother, helped Harry escape.

Cecilia heard voices outside the compartment, and she saw Draco standing there with his two pets standing on either side of him. He was peering in through the door at the four of them just sitting there. He caught Cecilia’s eye and his gaze hardened as he reached to open the door. Before he could pull it open, there was a small explosion, and a puff of smoke filled the hall. When it was gone, Malfoy, Crabbe and Goyle were no longer in sight, and Fred was pulling open the door instead to let himself and George in.

“Thought we’d get rid of the problem for you guys,” Fred commented sitting down beside Cecilia and throwing her a small smile. Cecilia smiled back and watched as George sat opposite of Fred next to Harry. “Exploding Snap, anyone?”

A couple of games later, when Ron and George were in a particularly heated game of Exploding Snap stealing everyone’s attention, Fred turned his body to face Cecilia on the bench and Cecilia tore her eyes away to face him too.

“So, where are you going once we get off this train?” he whispered.

Cecilia looked around the check if anyone had heard him. When she saw nobody was paying attention, she turned back. “I’m going to Professor Lupin’s house.”

“Lupin!?” Fred said loudly. They both checked again to see if anyone was listening before Fred turned back. “Why are you going there?”

“Him and my dad were best friends at school.” Cecilia said. Fred still had a skeptical look on his face, so she added, “he’s one of the creators of the Marauder’s Map.”

“Professor Lupin is!? Wow he just got even cooler.” Cecilia smiled at Fred’s new appreciation for their old professor before he continued on. “So, you’re staying with him for the summer?”

Cecilia shrugged. “I’m not sure. My dad said he had a plan, but I’m not sure what it is. There’s not much he can do himself without getting caught by the Ministry. I’m really hoping it’s not camping out in caves like he’s been doing for the past several months.”

Fred laughed at this. His head tilted back, and his laugh filled the compartment. This gained the attention of everyone while they watched Fred’s body shake with laughter and Cecilia’s cheeks heat up. His laugh was lively and contagious, soon Cecilia joined in with her soft laugh.

“I’m sorry, I just cannot picture Cecilia Black living in a cave.”

“Trust me, if it comes down to that, I will crawl my arse back to the Malfoys and beg them to take me back.”

Fred cringed at the thought before dramatically waving his hands in front of her signaling no. “If it really comes down to that, come to the Burrow. Mum’s always taking in strays and I’m sure I could convince her to take in another.”

Cecilia blushed again at the generous offer. She smiled up at Fred who was beaming down at her. “Thanks, Weasley. I’ll see what my father has planned first.”

Before Fred could say anything else, Ron won the game of Exploding Snap catching their attention as he celebrated. Fred started heckling his twin for losing to their younger brother before he told Ron that as the superior twin, he would beat him. Cecilia switched spots with him so he would be closer to Ron and they could play.

The rest of the ride Cecilia spent chatting with Fred or watching what everyone else in the compartment was doing. She realized that this was the first time she’d ever enjoyed her time on the train. Even going home, she knew it wasn’t to the Malfoys but her father and that seemed to make it even better.

When the train pulled up, Cecilia didn’t want it to end. She said her goodbyes to Ron, Hermione and Harry before turning to Fred. “If I don’t hear from you in a week, I’ll assume you’re stuck in some cave or your father’s plan actually worked out.”

Cecilia laughed. She grinned at Fred catching his sparking eyes before whispering, “I’ll keep you updated on the whole thing. If there is a cave involved, I’ll need your assistance getting out.”

“I look forward to your owl Miss Black,” he said with a wink. Cecilia felt her breath get caught in her throat at the sight of him standing before her with a brilliant smile and sparking eyes. Just like months ago, Cecilia could see why girls liked Fred Weasley. He wasn’t hard on the eyes and his personality was very tolerable. She almost wondered how she didn’t see it before. Of course, her go to excuse was her corrupted brain from the Malfoys.

They parted ways and Cecilia threw one last glance at the ginger pack that was making their way towards the same woman Cecilia had seen at the hospital wing the night of the last task. When she tore her eyes away, she searched for her old professor in the thick crowd.

As she was sweeping the crowd, Cecilia’s eyes caught a pair of pale blue ones across the platform. Narcissa was standing there watching Cecilia’s every move from her spot. Cecilia couldn’t see Draco nor Lucius in sight, just her aunt. Her eyes were paler than usual, and Cecilia saw the heavy weight of sadness in them.

In Lucius’s letters, he mentioned how her actions were affecting her aunt and making her sad. Cecilia knew that as the only person who cared about her in that house, it was very possible that Narcissa would mourn the loss of her niece in the family. Now, her eyes still locked in Cecilia’s with their sad gaze, Cecilia realized that maybe Narcissa was a lot more affected than expected.

She almost made her way across the platform to her aunt to apologize and explain herself, but a hand on her shoulder stopped her and she spun around to face Remus Lupin.

“It’s nice to see you again Cecilia,” Lupin said with a sad smile on his face. “I’m sorry these are the circumstances though,” he added looking over her shoulder to where Cecilia knew Narcissa was standing.

“I’m sorry this is necessary at all Professor. I’m sure you weren’t expected having to host a criminal on the run and his homeless daughter.”

Much to Cecilia’s surprise, Remus actually laughed a deep full laugh. “No, it was certainly unexpected, but I don’t mind. And please, call me Remus, I am not longer your professor. Now shall we get out of here? I expect you’ve done side-along Apparation before.”

Cecilia nodded and picked up her trunk ready for the sensation she was quite used to. Remus grabbed her elbow and then the crowded platform disappeared. They landed in front of a small cottage that was surrounded thickly with trees. Cecilia stumbled a bit on the landing, but Remus held onto her elbow until he was certain she was stable on her feet before releasing it.

“Your father is inside; he got here last night.”

Cecilia picked up her trunk and followed Remus towards the door. On the inside, the cottage didn’t look much bigger. There was a living room that directly attached to the kitchen and dining room. There was also another hall that led off the living room and Cecilia saw three doors she assumed was a bathroom and two bedrooms.

“It’s not much, defiantly smaller than the mansion you grew up in,” Remus said looking shy as he watched Cecilia look around.

“It’s perfect because it’s not the mansion I grew up in,” Cecilia smiled. “Thank you again for letting me stay here Prof- Remus.”

Remus smiled and made his way down the hall to knock on one of the doors. When it opened, Cecilia caught sight of Sirius. He was wearing clothes that looked too big on his thin frame and he looked sleepy. Still, when he caught sight of Cecilia standing in the middle of the living room, his face beamed, and he came over to greet his daughter.

“Hello, my dear,” Sirius said wrapping Cecilia in a tight hug and kissing the top of her head. “Are you doing alright?”

“Hello dad,” Cecilia greeted back, her voice muffled by the jumper Sirius was wearing. “I’m fine, glad to see you again.”

Sirius pulled back and smiled at her. He lifted his arms to the side as if to present himself. “I bet you’ve never seen your father properly showered wearing clean clothes.”

Cecilia giggled and followed Sirius onto the couch. They were greeted with two cups of tea a couple of minutes later as Remus joined them on the chair to the side. Cecilia filled the silence by telling Sirius about her OWLs and how she studied a lot for them to keep herself occupied at school.

“You sound like how Remus was at school. Always studying, though he did take some time off to prank with us every once in a while.” Remus rolled his eyes dramatically at Sirius and Cecilia giggled again watching the interaction.

Cecilia couldn’t help but admire her father now that he was cleaned up and in a normal setting. Before, she’d seen him in the Shrieking Shack and in a cave where he was alone and broken. Then, he seemed like the shell of a man, he looked like a proper runaway criminal. Now, he was all cleaned up and in the comfort of a house with two people, he seemed normal.

She let Remus and Sirius bicker back and forth a few moments longer before cutting in again. “I figured the more OWLs I get, the better. I’m not sure what I want to do after Hogwarts so the more OWLs I get, the more my options are open.”

“You don’t have a clue about what you want to do?” Remus questioned.

Cecilia flushed before admitting, “I always assumed I’d have my inheritance to fall back on or that I’d marry rich and become the lady of the house.” Sirius cringed and Remus smirked looking over at Sirius for his response. Before he could say anything, Cecilia added, “it’s how I grew up unfortunately. I never knew many women who had careers.”

“That’s the pure-blood society for you,” Sirius said wavy his hand in the air. “The women stay at home with the heirs and the men go out to destroy the world.”

Cecilia giggled again. “It’s true. Now that I’m out though, I should probably figure something out for my future.”

Sirius hummed in agreement. “While we’re on the subject of inheritances, I should probably let you know that you have nothing to worry about. The Black family vault has an abundance of galleons that you’ll be able to access once we retrieve the key.”

“How are we going to do that?” Cecilia asked.

“Well, Remus and I have been speaking with Dumbledore about going back to my childhood home and staying there for the summer.” Sirius paused watching Cecilia’s face before slowly continuing. “We think it would be a perfect place for Headquarters.”

“Headquarters?”

Remus spoke up next and Cecilia turned her attention from her father to the third person in the room. “During the First Wizarding War, Dumbledore created a secret society with the purpose of fighting back against Voldemort and his Death Eaters called the Order of the Phoenix. Dumbledore is planning on reforming the Order with the same intentions as before now that Voldemort is back.”

“And your childhood home, the one we’re going to stay at for the summer, it would be Headquarters?”

“Grimmauld Place is well hidden and with the perfect number of wards and maybe a Fidelius Charm, it will be the perfect place to hide a convict on the run and a secret society.” Sirius answered. “That and the fact no one would guess that Headquarters for the Order of the Phoenix would be in the home of some of Voldemort’s most loyal followers.”

“You mean the whole Black family also supported Voldemort?”

Sirius cringed. “Yes. Well except us.”

Cecilia decided to let that information settle in. She came from two bad families, two families who supported Voldemort and his horrible ideas. Under all circumstances, she should be some brain washed pure-blood who hates Mudbloods and blood-traitors, but she wasn’t. Against all odds, Cecilia ended up like the only person in her family who wasn’t evil, and luckily that person just so happened to be her father.

Cecilia suddenly felt as though she needed to prove herself even more. “Can I join the Order?” she asked deciding that if she was going to do anything to be different than the rest of her family, she was going to join the secret society against The Dark Lord.

Sirius and Remus exchanged another look before Sirius sighed heavily and turned back to her. “No Cecilia, not yet. We had to wait till we graduated from Hogwarts before we joined and the same goes for you.” Cecilia looked down and Sirius quickly added. “But you will be around the action. People from the Order will be around, and I’ll certainly update you if I think there’s important information you should be aware of, but you won’t be able to attend the meeting nor will you be able to go on missions.”

Cecilia nodded understanding. She was only sixteen and as much as she knew that she was more capable than her father was aware of, she’d still be around and once she was graduated, she’d already be familiar with the Order and she would jump right into action.

“When will we go to the house? When will the meetings start?”

“We’ll go tomorrow,” Sirius said to Cecilia then turned to Remus. “Moony you’ll stay there as well?” Cecilia turned to watch Remus nod in agreement. “Perfect! Tonight, we’ll stay here, Cecilia you take the bed, I’ll sleep in my Animagus form, then tomorrow we go back to my childhood hell hole.”

“And the meetings?” Cecilia pushed on.

“That will be up to Dumbledore! For now, we need to let Dumbledore know about our plan and rest up for tomorrow. Cecilia you’re already packed, and I have nothing but the clothes off my back-”

“They’re my clothes,” Remus cut in.

“-so, it’s really just you who needs to pack Moony.”

Cecilia smiled at Sirius’ bright cheery mood and grabbed her trunk bringing it to the spare room. Remus went to write a letter to Dumbledore so he could meet them at the house tomorrow before they ate a small meal and went to bed.

She couldn’t fall asleep right away, her mind was full of so many thoughts. Just that morning Cecilia was sitting on a train talking with Fred about her possibly living in a cave, and now she was going to go live in a house and was now Headquarters for the Order of the Phoenix. Even if she couldn’t join yet, she was glad she could at least be around.

It was late before Cecilia finally drifted off into sleep. Her mind comforted with the presence of her father in the other room safe and the promise of a safe place to live for the summer.

…..

Cecilia woke the next morning to the sound of voices talking in the other room. It took her a moment to blink her eyes awake and place the voices as well as her surroundings. Then, all at once, it came back to her. It was Sirius and Remus’ voices in the other room because she was currently in her old professor’s home about to move into a new house, her father’s childhood home.

She quickly got out of bed and threw on a fresh set of robes. Then she grabbed her trunk and started dragging it out of the spare room back into the living room. She didn’t bother to unpack knowing that the three of them were to set off as soon as possible to Grimmauld Place.

When she exited the room, she was greeted by the two men sitting in the living room holding cups of tea. “Good morning Cecilia, there’s tea in the pot and bread on the counter if you want to make toast.” Cecilia followed Remus’ instructions pouring herself a cup of tea and making toast before wandering back into the living room to join Remus and Sirius.

“When are we going to Grimmauld Place?” Cecilia asked between sips of tea.

“I’m set to meet Dumbledore in a few minutes and then you and Remus will join us once we send word.”

Cecilia finished her toast and tea quietly while Remus and Sirius talked about the Death Eaters who have made a reappearance and discussing events that Cecilia was certain happened years ago back during the First Wizarding War. Then, she watched Sirius Apparate from just outside the house to where Dumbledore was waiting.

Cecilia’s trunk and a small suitcase sat by the door as Cecilia and Remus waited for whatever the word was that it was safe to come. They were both nervous for Sirius, so neither of them talked. Instead, Cecilia finished off her tea and Remus read the Daily Prophet.

Ten minutes passed and Cecilia was starting to wonder what the holdup was. She wasn’t sure where Grimmauld Place was or what kind of Charms they had to get through to get to the house, but ten minutes seemed to long and Cecilia was starting to get nervous. It wasn’t until Remus put down his paper, looked at his watch and frowned that Cecilia knew it shouldn’t take this long and something was long.

Before Cecilia could ask Remus what was wrong, a silvery phoenix entered the room they were in and spoke in Dumbledore’s voice. _“Mr Lupin, Miss Black, please join us in front of number 11 and number 13 Grimmauld Place as soon as possible.”_

Remus stood from his chair and grabbed his suitcase while Cecilia followed grabbing her trunk on the way. Once they were outside of the wards around the house, Remus grabbed Cecilia’s elbow again, just like he did on the train platform, and they Apparated away from the small cottage and into a back alley in a neighborhood Cecilia didn’t recognize.

Remus poked his head out of the alley checking if the coast was clear before he motioned for Cecilia to follow him and they made their way onto the street that was mostly empty except for Dumbledore standing in the middle of the street with a shaggy black dog seated next to him. They made their way to stand next to Dumbledore. Cecilia looked at where the old man was looking, between two houses, number 11 and number 13 Grimmauld Place.

“Is there something wrong Professor?” Remus asked. Padfoot whimpered from beside Dumbledore.

“It seems, Mr Lupin, that the house will not respond to Mr Black so we’re hoping that maybe it will answer to Miss Black.”

“What do you mean the house isn’t answering?”

Dumbledore didn’t answer. Instead, he smiled softly looking between the houses and her. “Miss Black, I need you to picture a house in between number 11 and number 13 Grimmauld Place. Close your eyes and call out to number 12 Grimmauld Place.”

Cecilia shot him a funny look. She wasn’t exactly sure what he meant by that or why he thought this house was going to ‘respond’ to her, but she tried anyways. She squared her shoulders towards the space in between the two houses and then closed her eyes. She wasn’t sure what the house looked like, the one she was supposed to be picturing in her mind, and then almost as if her question was answered, there was an image of a house in her mind. It was strange because she had never seen this house before yet there it was crystal clear in her mind. Once she opened her eyes, the same house she had pictured in her mind lay in between number 11 and number 13.

“But how?” she whispered out. “Did I do that?”

Dumbledore took a moment to stroke his long beard before answering, “it seems you did Miss Black.”

Dumbledore walked forward and motioned for her, Remus and Padfoot to follow. They walked up the street and up the steps to where lay the newly exposed black door that had the number 12 on it and a knocker that was in the shape of a snake. Dumbledore stopped and held his palm up to the door. Cecilia assumed he was looking for curses or protection spells or something they should be cautious of. Then he let his palm rest on the door, and he pushed it open.

The inside of the house was dark and dusty. Cecilia felt a chill run down her spine the minute she stepped into the house. The air felt thick with magic, but not the light airy kind. It was heavy and dark. Cecilia looked down to where Padfoot was sitting at her feet. Even as a dog, Cecilia could see the distress present on her father’s face.

Remus shut the door behind them and the four of them continued cautiously down the hall. Halfway down, Sirius turned back into a man, this time the distress was impossible to miss as it was written all over his features.

The entrance hall was lined with portrait after portrait of Black family members. It reminded Cecilia of the portrait hall at Malfoy Manor with the portrait of Stella Malfoy she used to talk to. At the very end of the hall, there was portrait that burst alive the minute they passed by it.

“ _Blood traitors in my house! How dare you come back her after everything you’ve done! Disgrace to the Black family!”_

Cecilia whipped her head to the side and came face to face with a portrait of an old lady with a black cap on. The fury was evident on her features and Cecilia had to take step back at the intensity of her words and her tone. Beside her, Sirius wrapped his hand around her arm pulling her as far back to the opposite wall where he was.

“Hello mother,” he whispered quietly, his voice shaking slightly.

Sirius’ mother, or Cecilia’s grandmother, kept spitting insults towards Sirius before Dumbledore stepped forward and pulled a string beside the portrait which pulled two curtains that lay on each side of the portrait together abruptly cutting of the yelling.

“Ahh Walburga Black. I was never a fan of her,” Dumbledore said turning towards Cecilia and Sirius. “Shall we continue on?”

Sirius nodded and lead them towards the dining room that branched off at the end of the hall. The room was just as dusty as the entrance hall and Dumbledore waved his wand around the table and chairs cleaning them off for the four of them to sit. He conjured up a pot of tea and four teacups before magically tipping the tea into each cup.

“It may need a little cleaning if we’re going to use it as Headquarters and some protective spells. Maybe a Fidelius Charm for extra measures.”

“It’s a big house to clean all by ourselves,” Sirius said not looking up from his teacup. Cecilia couldn’t help but notice his body language. His shoulders were slumped forward, his head hanging low and his voice was small, he looked small.

“I’m sure I can find you some help.” Sirius just nodded.

Cecilia looked over to Remus who was also watching Sirius and his slow movements. He had a faint look of worry on his face and Cecilia wondered if he knew why Sirius was acting like this. The room was silent for a few moments before Sirius spoke again.

“The house didn’t answer to me, but it did answer to Cecilia. Do you know why?” Though he never specified, it was clear his question was directed towards Dumbledore.

Dumbledore sighed and put down his cup. “Mr Black, perhaps we should have this discussion in private.” Sirius stood up and Dumbledore followed his actions then both men left the room.

“What was that all about?” Cecilia asked watching as they left towards a different part of the house.

Remus sighed and shrugged. “I never understood much about Sirius and his family, it was all very…complicated.”

“Do you know why he’s acting so strange?” Cecilia asked.

Remus sighed again, this time louder. “Sirius hasn’t been back here since he left at the age sixteen. I assume being back here brings back all the horrible memories of living here when he was younger.”

“The portrait of Sirius’ mother, she was yelling all these nasty things to him…”

“I’m afraid the real Walburga did the same.”

Cecilia closed her eyes feeling a rush of emotion run through her. She felt sad and angry all at once for Sirius. In the brief seconds she had met her grandmother, she was already shaken. She couldn’t imagine Sirius living here and hearing that every day as a child. No wonder he was making himself smaller now, it was probably a force of habit after the years of living in this house.

When Cecilia opened her eyes, they were filled with tears. “I didn’t know. I didn’t even know he was disowned until this year. When my uncle was threatening me, he mentioned Sirius being disowned and how history was repeating itself.”

Remus nodded understanding before adding, “he left and then Walburga disowned him.” There was a pause before, “I’m surprised you didn’t know.”

Cecilia shrugged. “I was never told much about my parents. My uncle assumed that since one was dead and the other was in Azkaban, there was no use learning much about them.”

“I’m sure he also didn’t want you to turn out like them,” Remus commented tilting his head to the side as if he was analyzing Cecilia.

“Yeah, that would make sense. He didn’t want me dead like my mother or a blood traitor like my father.”

Remus opened his mouth to say more, or maybe to correct her, but was cut off from Sirius storming back into the dining room with Dumbledore following with a closed off expression. Whatever was said in the conversation clearly had pissed Sirius off.

“I’ll try and find volunteers to help clean up this place and I’ll continue recruiting for the Order. I’ll be back soon with more details. Mr Lupin, Mr Black, Miss Black.” Then without another word, he stepped out of the dining room back into the hall. They all listened to his steps get further and further away until he had opened and shut the front door indicating he was gone.

“You okay Padfoot?” Remus asked eyeing Sirius warily. Sirius didn’t say anything, he just continued stewing in anger.

This time, Cecilia tried. “Did Dumbledore tell you why the house answered to me and not you?”

A loud sigh passed through Sirius lips before he leaned back. He didn’t look like was about to answer so Cecilia continued. “I mean if it didn’t answer to you because you were disowned, shouldn’t it automatically not answer to me.”

“It seems,” Sirius started, his voice tight. “That the house was left to you specifically Cecilia.”

“Why?” she breathed out.

“Because my lovely mother left it to you under the impression that you, Cecilia Black, were a Black not because you were _my_ child, but because you were Regulus’.”

Cecilia furrowed her eyebrows. She knew Regulus Black was Sirius’ brother, but she didn’t know why anyone would mistake her as his. Cecilia looked to Remus for a reaction, but he just sat back with his arms folded eyeing Sirius.

Sirius continued on with his angry rant. “I’m not angry that I don’t get the house, or the family fortune, but to think you were Regulus’! Merlin, I don’t know what Stella was thinking!?”

Sirius pushed his chair back and stood up quickly. He walked over to the corner of the room where there was a small cupboard. He opened it up and grabbed a bottle from inside. Then he grabbed a glass and filled it with the amber liquid. Cecilia recognized it as Firewhiskey. The same drink she’d had a couple times herself with Blaise on the Astronomy Tower.

Sirius downed the drink in one go, then came and sat back down. He sighed loudly again and rubbed his hands over his face. Once he looked as if he were calmer, he looked back over to Cecilia. “I’m sorry my dear, I’m not upset with you. I’m upset with…just the fact that you were considered Regulus’ child over mine. It has more to do with my past with my brother and my past with your mother and even my brother’s past with your mother, but I’m happy that it is yours. Now you have a home, and you have an inheritance, the Black family vault is all yours.”

“I’m sorry that you have to be back here. Are you sure this is a good idea?”

Sirius reached forward and grabbed her hands. “Don’t worry about me Cece, I’ll be fine.” Cecilia smiled and reached forward to hug Sirius. His relaxed at the gesture and squeezed her shoulders before pulling back. “C’mon, I’ll show you to your rooms.”

Sirius led them towards the stairs and up onto the second floor of the house where there were at least three doors. Sirius pushed open one and coughed slightly when dust filled the air. Inside there was a large wardrobe and a queen size bed in the middle. There was a fireplace and a small bathroom that led just off of it. “Cecilia this’ll be your room.”

He left the door open before turning to the next door. Inside there was two twin beds and Sirius looked at them before shutting the door and continuing on. Then he opened the third door and there was a room that looked almost the same as Cecilia’s minus the adjoining bathroom. “Here you go Moony.”

They continued to explore the house, each room looked dustier and more neglected than the last. Cecilia was very happy that they would have help cleaning out the house, because she would hate to have to do it all themselves, just the three of them.

Once they reached the fourth floor, Cecilia noticed there were only two doors there. One that had Regulus Arcturus Black on the front and the opposite door was bare. Sirius quickly glanced towards the door that read Regulus before opening the opposite door. Inside, the room was Gryffindor red and Cecilia immediately noticed pictures of motorcycles and half naked women on the wall. Sirius looked at her sheepishly while Remus laughed from beside him.

“Classy Padfoot,” Remus said between laughs.

Sirius’ ears tinted pink before he mumbled out, “it was to get a reaction from my mother.”

Cecilia laughed along with Remus before adding, “I would have loved to put up half naked pictures of men to see Lucius’ reaction.”

Sirius face flashed from amused, to horror before he finally settled on a smile and a small chuckle. “Oh Cecilia, how could anyone think you aren’t _my_ daughter.”

There was a sound from the door that made all three of them turn around. Remus and Cecilia both had their wands drawn. It took them a few seconds before registered what had made the noise. There in the doorway stood a small house elf who looked old and battered.

“Filthy halfblood and blood traitors in my Mistress’ house!”

Sirius scoffed, “oh shut up Kreacher. That’s no way to speak to the new Mistress of the house.”

The house elf, Kreacher, made a face before speaking again. “Mistress must’ve made a mistake; Mistress would _never_ leave the house and Kreacher to a blood traitor! Mistress would never!”

“It seems my mother did.”

Cecilia watched the exchange with curiosity. It seemed like the elf was extremely loyal to Walburga which was unsettling for Cecilia. He didn’t seem pleased that she was the new Mistress of the house nor did he seemed pleased that he answered to her.

“Kreacher, why is the house so disgusting?” Sirius spat. “It’s your job to keep the house clean yet it looks like a total dump.”

“How dare you talk about Mistress’ house like that! Kreacher has been busy!”

“Clearly not cleaning! Leave us and go make yourself useful!”

Kreacher bowed his head before walking away grumbling. Sirius turned back to Cecilia. “Sorry about that, he never was a pleasant elf, not even in my childhood.”

Cecilia didn’t ask any questions, not wanting to bring up Sirius’ childhood since it seemed to bother him. Instead, she followed Sirius and Remus back downstairs to the dining room.

“So, what now?” Cecilia asked looking at Sirius. He just looked at Remus and then back down to her.

“We prepare.”

“For what?”

Sirius’ jaw tightened and his eyes grew hard. “If its anything like last time, a war.”


End file.
